Hunting Iron, Sleeping Fire
by Shinza
Summary: A.U. In a world where the strongest guilds are the ones whom have killed the most Dragons, Levy is a member of the weakest guild in Fiore : Fairy Tail. Her goal : hunt down the Dragon that killed her parents and be the first mage in Fairy Tail to kill one of those giant rampaging lizards. /GaLe/, /NaLu/ and other appearances.
1. Prologue

**Hello dear Reader!**

 **After _Kerberos_ I really wanted to write another GaLe fic., so here it is.**

 **I hope that you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed coming up with this plot :)**

 **Disclaimer : I do not own _Fairy Tail_**

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 **Levy**

When I was a little girl, my mother would tell me stories about the greatest and most powerful magic users since the dawn of time: Dragons.

In her stories, the great beasts would be powerful beings, and yet could be gentle enough to take in an innocent child that had been abandoned in its forest. They were ruthless warriors, yet faithful and loving mates. They could unleash the elements into a roaring storm of devastating chaos, and yet be the most silent and invisible of hunters when need be. They could be stubborn and childish one moment, then serious and understanding the next.

The majestic creatures had become a romanced version of the Prince Charming I could find in my books. They were loyal and strong, proud and fearless, kind and compassionate, caring and gentle. I imagined those dragons guarding the castle of princesses from evildoers. For me they weren't the greedy beasts that locked them up in the highest tower of a haunted castle, no. They were here to fight off the foolish men who thought they could protect her and her kingdom, testing them. It was logical for me; what kind of king would you be if you couldn't even protect your queen, your soul mate, that would one day give you an heir? If you couldn't protect the one person that would stay by your side until the end of your days, how could you possibly rule over an entire kingdom of loyal subjects?

So I always cheered for the big scaly fighter, until he stepped aside when the right prince came to lay claim on his princess.

Of course, my childish disillusions were short lived. In a single night I saw my dreams and hopes, my family and friends, my whole life, crumble to dust. And it was on that single night that I saw dragons for what they really are.

They are giant destructive monsters, with claws made to shred buildings, jaws that crush through bone as if it was a toothpick, a tail that clears everything in its way in a single swipe, large wings that can stir up a tornado, and a body shielded by impenetrable scales. The perfect defense for the perfect destroyer.

I still see it in my nightmares, the giant shadow bathing in a mountain of fire, wings spreading out as a deafening screech is heard, covering up the roaring of the flames engulfing the small town. I can still hear the wooden houses snapping as thousands of embers fly towards the dark sky, like fireflies rising up to the orange smoky clouds that have long since hidden the starry night sky. The more I try to drown out the sounds, the more I become aware of the high pitched screams of agony, the acrid smell of burning flesh, the groans of pain that seemed to encircle me, and yet come from nowhere. People rush around me, screaming in panic, weeping, mumbling useless prayers, running towards their crumbling houses in hope of finding their daughter, father, sister or lover waiting for them, to tell them that everything was going to be okay.

But I know that it's all a lie. Nothing was "okay" after that dreadful event. That night my hometown was burnt to the ground, my family murdered by that beastly thing, my friends burnt alive in their own homes, and my neighbors crushed by falling debris.

In less than an hour, it had left as silently as it had came, leaving behind the stench of death and despair as it carried on. This was a small town; we had no cattle, no inestimable jewel, no sacred treasure, and no mage guild. The dark scaled dragon had attacked my village not out of greed or revenge or retaliation, or just to eat. It had attacked a small defenseless human village for the simple thrill of annihilating it.

When the army arrived with the first rays of dawn, the wounded were carried off to the nearest town for treatments, while I was brought to a tent with the other children. We were given warm food and water, and as the hours dwindled by, parents would rush into the tent and fall to their knees. Their eyes would fill up with dread when they saw just how few we were, nervously scanning our faces covered in dust and tears, barely whispering the name of their sons or daughters, afraid to have that small sliver of hope crushed with the awful reality. Some would see their child run towards them, crushing them in a desperate hug, showering them with kisses as more tears started rolling down their cheeks. Others would start screaming out for their little ones, then crumble into a pile of anguished cries as they realized that they would never see their child again, and were then escorted out of the tent as they mourned for their lost.

Seeing the adults cry scared me. They were supposed to be the indestructible grown-ups, the persons with all the answers, they always had a solution for our problems when we were sick, or sad, or even scared, they would always be there to protect us from any kind of harm. And yet, here they were, as helpless as us.

When the sun was starting to set, and old little man entered the tent. He was a funny little fellow, no taller than my 5 year-old self, with white hair at the edges of his bald head, a wide mustache covering his upper lip, and was wearing a long white coat that fell to the top of his black traveling boots. He had a grave expression on when he stepped through the flaps of the tent, but when his eyes turned to us, they crinkled with relief as he gave us a warm smile.

"Hey kids, I'm here to take you to your new home."

By that time, we were only three orphans left. I looked to the old man as the two boys that were left with me held on to each of my arms, crying. The grandpa, that later told us to call him Makarov, had a kind voice that cracked from time to time, like that of a crazy yet caring grandfather's would have. He also introduced himself as the master of a guild called Fairy Tail, and that he would be taking care of us until we were of age to live on our own.

Before leaving the tent, he asked us to play a game with him. He told us that it was a game to test our courage and trust, because we were now going to be a family, and believing in one another was very important when you are a part of a family. Jet and Droy, the two other boys that were still clinging on to me, had stopped crying as they closed their eyes and each took hold of one of Makarov's hands. I played along and closed my eyes, grabbing onto the back of his cloak, letting myself get pulled along.

When we left the tent, I felt a cold wind hit face as the smell of burnt wood invaded my senses. Curiosity got the best of me as my mind started reeling with ideas and hope. Maybe a few houses had been spared? Maybe my room hadn't been too damaged by the fire and I would be able to bring a few of my books with me, or maybe find a picture of my family? Not wanting to play Makarov's game anymore, I decided to open my eyes. As tears rolled down my cheeks for was seemed the hundredth time today, my body shook with anger, hate, and even betrayal, for the dragons that I had thought gentle and caring. So I closed my eyes again and buried my face into the warm fuzzy coat of my adoptive father, muffling my cries and tears.

Even if he knew that I had peeked, Makarov didn't say a thing and continued to pull us along as tried ignoring the image that seemed to have imprinted itself on the inside of my eyelids. The image of a field of smoking ashes that once was my hometown.

There had been nothing left to salvage.


	2. Spotted

**Hello dear Reader!**

 **This is the first chapter! I hope that you like it. I actually had to stop myself from writing too much and ended up splitting this chapter into three other ones to not rush the story… anyways, enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer : I do not own** _ **Fairy Tail**_

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Fourteen years had passed since Makarov had brought Levy, Jet and Droy to Magnolia, the city were the mage's guild Fairy Tail stood tall and proud. They had received a warm welcome at their arrival and, at the guildhall, had met with other children that had also been picked up by Makarov after the destruction of their towns by dragons. The guild members quickly became her new family, and before she knew it, Levy celebrated her 16th birthday and became an official Fairy Tail member.

As three more years passed, Levy McGarden became an energetic and cheerful young woman, a bit clumsy at times, but always smiling. Being the caring person that she was, Levy was known as a kind spirited soul that could easily forgive when she saw the good in people, even if anger still boiled inside her when she was reminded of the dark scaled dragon that had destroyed her family, and whom still haunted her nightmares.

Physically, Levy wasn't very tall for a 19 year old. You could even say that she had a slender and petite figure, to her great despair. She wore short dresses in hopes that it would empathize the curve of her hips, the only curve her body really had, while making her legs seem longer. She already found herself flat chested, and the fact that she was pretty short was also frustrating at times, so she didn't need to look any younger than how she already did.

She had never let her hair grow out, usually keeping her wavy royal blue locks shoulder length, held back with a colorful bandana. But what she liked the most about herself were her hazel eyes that seemed to take on a darker shade when she was upset by something.

Of course, she didn't get upset much, and took on each problem as a challenge, a puzzle that she needed to crack. She had always been very mature for her age, being a curious and smart child; she was always the most levelheaded one during a crisis. Makarov had always thought it sad that she had grown so fast, having practically lost her childhood with the death of her parents. But ever since she had arrived at Fairy Tail, she had always been happy and cheerful, so hadn't said anything, and was even relieved to have at least one more serious person in his boisterous guild full of brats.

Levy had always loved books. She read them all. Let it be novels, magic manuals, tour guides, history books, poems,… whatever book could catch her eye, and boy did a lot of books catch her eye, she would read it. But her main reads were usually parchments about the History of Dragons. Unfortunately, these documents were usually very old, having been written before the end of the Dark Ages, and also very rare since most scrolls had been lost or destroyed during the Last Battle.

Her studies had taught her that dragons seemed to have appeared long before the humans, when Magic came out of Earthland itself and fused with the elements, giving birth to the strongest magic wielders known to this day; Dragons. That is why dragons are protected by a single element, and possess great quantities of magic, making them formidable foes.

But they were also very proud and greedy creatures, and would fight one another for lands and riches. The destructive power of these flying giants was such that the lands started dying and the sky clouded over into an eternal darkness. And it is said that out of the night and despair that reigned over Earthland, Acnologia was born. Known as the King of dragons, Acnologia stopped the war between dragons, allowing the earth to heal. Thousands of years later, humans appeared and started taking over their lands, waging war against one another, just like the dragons had eons before. Seeing this, the ruler of dragons rallied his kind and started a war against the humans, to take back their domains.

The humans, seeing that they were going to lose against the giant magic-wielding reptiles, brought their forces together, uniting the continent of Fiore, and learned how to control magic for themselves. This event marked the end of the Dark Ages five hundred years ago, but also the beginning of great wars between Dragons and Humans. After over a century of fighting, the Last Battle occurred, where large numbers of dragons and mages were slain. It was such a devastating battle that some records say that the dragon and human populations were reduced to half by the end of the three days of conflict. Both weakened parties secluded themselves after that; the humans organized themselves into guilds where mages would gather, and train together, in order to hunt and kill dragons. The dragons, with their king gone feral after the wars, scattered across the continent, destroying towns along the way.

With time, guilds were established all over Fiore, and about a hundred years ago, in Magnolia, Fairy Tail was founded by a certain Mavis Vermillion. In Fiore, the more dragons a guild slays, or even wounds, the more prestige the guild earns. But up to this day, Fairy Tail has never killed, wounded or even started a fight with a dragon, and thus was considered the weakest guild in all the lands. Of course, they were still a very famous guild with very strong mages, since hunting dragons was not the only way to earn money. A guild can receive jobs from anyone, and the value of reward received depends on the difficulties of the job. The dragon hunting jobs were always S ranked, and were considered the hardest and most dangerous of missions, but paid very well.

Levy had once asked the Third Guild Master, Makarov, why the guild didn't actively hunt down dragons, or even accept the jobs to kill them. He had shrugged at the question, saying that it was too dangerous for his children. But that never discouraged Levy from trying to find the dragon that had attacked her hometown.

Her second books of interest were the ones that taught her how to effectively track down, and ultimately kill, the scaly bastards. This time, the books depicting the weak points of certain type of elemental dragons were way more numerous and easier to acquire, compared to the ones about the history of dragons. So she had been training all those years in secret, creating her own spells, and perfecting the ones that she found, in order to one day be able to face a dragon.

Levy is a solid script mage, meaning that she can bring to life any word of her choosing. For example, she would write out the word "FIRE" in the air in front of her and that word would appear there, the letters formed by blazing red flames. With all her reading, she also had great knowledge of spells and could easily decipher them, or even rewrite them if ever she found herself trapped in one.

With her small body, she wasn't built for brute strength, but that didn't really bother her, for her best weapon was her mind. She was the leader of team Shadow-Gear, and her quick thinking had gotten her, and her teammates, out of troubling situations more than once. The two other members of Fairy Tail's Shadow-Gear were Jet and Droy. All three had been from the same village, and had become very close after their arrival in Magnolia.

Jet is a tall and slim redhead that likes to wear purple shirts, and keeps his hair up into a messy ponytail. He's also the fastest mage in Fairy Tail, his magic being Speed Magic, and usually serves as a distraction on dangerous missions. He could land a hit or two, but was mostly keeping the enemy busy, while Droy caught or knocked out the opponents with his Plant Magic, and Levy thought up the tactics to win. Droy had short black hair and was as tall as Jet, but much more over overweight than his counterpart. His big figure, covered by a long olive colored coat, could always be found eating or snacking on something.

The two boys, whom were two years older than Levy, loved their female teammate a lot, and could always be found following the blue haired mage, gushing at how cute she was. Even if she found them a little overbearing from time to time, she wouldn't have it any other way. Levy loved her two boys to bits. They were her best friends and brothers, even if they seemed to want more than that from her, but she always brushed it off as them being overprotective of her.

But today, the small Solid script mage was walking around the guild alone, her two usual guard-dogs nowhere in sight. They had arrived at the guild two nights ago, from a job that mostly consisted of her having to transcribe writings that had been found inside an old wooden temple. This shouldn't of had taken her more than a day, but the two young men had been bored with just watching her work, and had gone exploring. The building was old, over two hundred years old, and had been abandoned a long time ago. The wood that hadn't been eaten away by termites was either rotting away or was bloated from the humid air of the mountains. Not minding their steps, the two Shadow-Gear members had passed right through the floor, the parquet crumbling under their weight, taking a support beam with them. They had ended their fall in the basement, on top of a pile of debris, covered in dust and woodchips. Jet had broken his right leg while Droy his left arm, and both were marred with cuts, bruises and splinters. It had taken Levy the rest of the day to help them get out, and bring them to the hospital that was located in the village at the foot of the mountain.

The team had came back two days later, and Jet and Droy had been bedridden in the guild's infirmary ever since. Normally Levy would have been at their bedside until they both got better, but when she had finally arrived at Fairy Hills, Fairy Tail's girl dormitory, she had received a letter that threw those plans out the window. She decided that she would leave the next day for a solo mission while her two boys recovered.

She didn't usually take on solo mission, even if most of the jobs she took ended up with her translating an ancient book for a client while Jet and Droy slept somewhere in the library they were at. It wasn't that she was the only one who chose the jobs, but it was the only kind of jobs that gave lots of jewels and that she was really good at because, let's face it, even if team Shadow-Gear was the team that brought the most money in, they weren't the strongest mages in the guild. So they took on easier missions, leaving the fighting to the other members. But this was different, she wasn't really going for the mission, nor did she really need any jewels for now, no. She was going on a hunt. Her guild mates, especially her two boys, didn't need to know that, so she left for the guildhall bright and early that morning.

That was how she found herself walking towards the back of the guild, next to the bar, where the job request board was, her traveling bag heavy with a week worth of stuffs. Pausing in front of the board, she faced the other girl that was practically glaring a hole through the billboard. Levy smile seeing her friend who still hadn't noticed her, and shook her out of her thoughts with a cheerful greeting.

"Morning Lu-chan! Going on a job today?"

The busty blond, going by the name of Lucy Heartfilia, turned towards Levy, giving her a bright smile before answering sheepishly:

"Hey Levy! Yeah, I need to find a quest fast, my apartment is great, but every month it's the same thing. I'm always a few jewels short for the rent."

She laughed lightly, a tint of pink coloring her cheeks a bit, embarrassed, before looking back at the board.

"What about you?"

Levy took a few seconds, eyes scanning the requests, a thin smile creeping up on her lips as she spotted a job in the village she was aiming for. Not really reading what it consisted in doing, she quickly tore the paper from the board, not letting Lucy see what she had chosen, before answering.

"I'm going on a solo mission while Jet and Droy rest. I'll be able to take my time and go book shopping!"

"Great! I'll see you when you come back then. I've finished the next chapter for my latest story, I think you'll enjoy the plot twist."

"Can't wait to read it then!"

Levy then gave Lucy a bright smile, feeling a bit guilty for having lied to her best friend. Waving goodbye as she checked the job in the guild's registry, Levy quickly left for the train station.

The letter that she had received while away on her mission was from a little librarian she had met a few years back. The old lady was very kind, and had posted a job request saying that she needed help reorganizing the town's new public library after a flood had damaged the old one. The blue hair mage and the old lady had gotten along very well, and still wrote to one another from time to time, but the letter she had received wasn't one with their usual pleasant conversations, no. It was a letter telling Levy that there had been rumors of a dragon having been spotted in a cave that could be found near a village a few towns over from where the old lived. A dragon with dark scales.

It wasn't much to go by, but she still had to go and check it out before other guilds got wind of it and started hunting the beast down. To see if it was the monster that had been plaguing her nightmares for all those years.

He had been spotted, and now she was going to hunt him down.

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 **I would like to give a big thank you to cecebeek, Sakura-Fiction, Libiky, Nitebreaker, AnonymousStalkerFriend, tfandanimefan, The Siege, hisuichanxx, brittneyangel, Bluewater7, TheYetiChild, era scarlet, , nikkiw67, and thedesinja for the Fav./Follow/Review!**

 **It doesn't seem like much, but it's always nice to know that someone else likes the stories that you write down, or is willing to spare a few moments to offer their points of view, feelings, reactions and criticisms.**

 **So thank you, and I know that the beginning is a bit slow to start, but I promise that there will be more action in the next chapter when it comes out :)**


	3. It's all about the treat

**Hello again dear Reader!**

 **Thank you for finding this story interesting enough that you have made it to the second chapter!**

 **I won't hide it, I really had a lot of fun writing this part (also the reason why I'm posting it so soon… but don't get used to it, I just got impatient to share this chapter… and the other chapters might also not be as long, since I usually write between 2-3k words). I hope you will enjoy reading it! :)**

 **Side notes :**

Narration

"Talking"

 _*Thinking*_

 **Please be advised that there are a few inappropriate words in this chapter, thus the T rating for this story.**

 **Disclaimer : I do not own** _ **Fairy Tail**_

* * *

 **Lucy**

Worst. Job. Ever.

Those were the words that had been swirling around Lucy Heartfilia's mind for the past few hours. She had left Magnolia early this morning, a job request in one hand and her small traveling bag in the other, practically skipping along the road as she made her way to the train station, destination : Hargeon.

Hargeon was a small port town, about a day's walk south of Magnolia, where the annual Marina Festival would be taking place for a whole day before it moved on to the next port town. Lucy's job would be to attract as much customers as possible towards the docks where her client would be selling his ships. Of course, there were many boat dealers during the festival, so her goal was to make sure that the future customers bought her client's ships rather than the competitor's.

If she had known what a crappy day it was going to be, she would have gone straight back to bed, snuggled up into her fluffy covers, and waited for the sun to rise again. But she didn't, and really needed the money to pay her rent, so she took on that job request, hopped on the first train to Hargeon, arrived a few hours later to Trusty Pirate Jane's Boat Shop, and signed the contract.

Trusty Jane was a strong looking woman, with large curves that must have been to die for in her younger days, long wavy red hair making her green luminous eyes stand out, and a predatory smile that could probably chill you to the bone if you ever got on her wrong side. But what impressed Lucy the most was the way that she carried herself, head held high, always walking with a confident stride; you could feel that she was a smart and self assured saleswoman, ready to drive any hard bargain in her favor.

Lucy would be paid 20 000 jewels for playing the mascot for the day, and a bonus of 5 000 jewels every time she brought a customer that would leave with a brand new boat. The blond mage smiled inwardly. With this job, even if she didn't bring anyone interested in really buying a boat, she would already have enough jewels to finish paying her rent! But that smile died the second she saw the mascot's "uniform".

"Here ya' go dear. The top might be a little too tight for ya', but it should be fine."

The owner handed her the small pile of clothes and ushered her to the bathroom door in the corner of her office.

Once inside the small room, Lucy eyed wearily the "costume" that she was going to have to wear for the entire day, but quickly steeled herself and undressed.

* _Come on Lucy. 20 000 jewels, that's half your rent, for a single day of work. You can do this, easy._ *

Her inner motivation speech wasn't as effective once she saw her reflection in the mirror above the bathroom's sink.

* _Oh. My. Mavis. Trusty Jane Pirate Shop, my ass! More like Slutty Jane Pirate Shop if you ask me._ *

Lucy was looking at herself, cheeks red with embarrassment as she tried collecting the last strands of courage she had to exit the small bathroom. Lucy wasn't ashamed of her body, on the contrary. She knew that she had very generous curves in all the right places, and was used to wearing miniskirts and tops showing off a bit of cleavage… but the uniform was really testing her limits. She didn't mind the three-inch, knee high, black pirate boots so much, since they showed off her shapely long legs nicely, or the large blood red captain hat with the white ostrich feather, since it worked well with the French braid she had tied her shoulder-length blond hair into.

But what she DID mind was the very tight and very worn-out jean-short that seemed to barely cover her behind, and that felt like it would crack open if she ever tried bending down. But the worst part was the white top that stopped just above her midriff, the ends tied into a bow right under the swell of her breasts, while the frilled sleeves covered the top of her arms, leaving her shoulders bare, as the wide low cut cleavage left little to the imagination. Trusty Jane had been right; the top was too tight for her. Then again, Lucy couldn't really tell if the costume was designed to make her boobs look like they were going to poop out or not. This was worse than the corsets she had been forced to wear when she was still living under her father's roof.

When Lucy finally exited the small room, she was greeted with a smiling Jane that assured her that she looked just as good as she had when she was her age, and that the uniform fitted perfectly. The still blushing Lucy simply nodded and hurriedly left the shop, tilting the large hat over her brown eyes and praying that she wouldn't meet anyone she knew. She still kept her whip and keys attached at her hips, just in case.

Lucy was, just like her mother had been, a Celestial Spirit Mage. Collecting spirit keys, she could then summon their owner and form a contract with them. She respects and cares deeply for her spirits, and even if she seemed to argue with some of them, she would always be by their side, especially if they were to engage in combat.

For today, she wanted to attract as much attention as possible, so had summoned Plue, from the silver key of the Canis Minor. Plue, like any dog, looked very much like a small snowman with little arms and legs, and a cone shaped nose. Ever since she had bought his key, he would easily start shaking nervously, and can only say one word : "Puu-puun". But he still made an excellent pet even if he was useless in a fight.

The first part of the day was uneventful as she spent the morning shouting through the streets that the Trusty Pirate Jane's Boat Shop was open for business, showing off the boats for sale along the port with the help of Plue, and escorting potential customers to the shop's entrance. At some point she saw a part of the parade, with chariots the colors of the sea, and dancing mermaids throwing hands full of confetti over the cheering crowd. She didn't have time to see more when a lady had asked her a question about the boat for sale that she was currently showing off.

By the end of the day, Lucy felt completely drained, physically and mentally. Her feet were killing her from walking around in the damned boots, her throat was sore from all the yelling she had done, and she was a few seconds away from unwinding her whip, that was safely attached at her hip, and knock out the pervert that was groping her ass while taking a picture with her. As the sun started to set, she had felt a few pervs slap her ass as they passed by, but by the time she turned around and faced the crowd of people, she couldn't tell who had done it. Then, she had been lectured for over thirty minutes by an old lady who was appalled by her poor choice in clothes, and that a young lady such as herself should not be wearing such indecent outfits, especially if she wanted to find herself a nice and respectable young man. And to top it off, she had had about ten guys come up to her, greet her with a smile before sliding their phone numbers between her breasts. No need to say that they had all ended up weeping on the floor after a well-placed Lucy-kick.

When the church bell finally rang 6 PM, she made her way back to Jane's shop to collect her reward. Jane was very pleased and had sold eight boats thanks to Lucy's hard work. The Celestial Spirit Mage was also very happy when she left the shop, dressed in her long jeans with a black tank-top, and her bag 60 000 jewels heavier.

As she walked towards the train station, a thought hit her. She had completely forgotten to buy a Hargeon-Magnolia train ticket, and from the crowd already waiting by the rails, the trains were going to be overcrowded. When she finally got to the ticket booth, the station manager informed her that the trains were full until tomorrow evening. Moreover, with all the tourists in the small port town for the festival, all the hotels were sure to have no vacancy. Lucy let out a long sigh as she left the train station, feeling a headache coming.

The blond mage didn't want to spend her night sleeping in the corner of the station, waiting for a last minute cancellation, so she decided that she might as well just walk back to Magnolia. She had done it before, it had taken her under nine hours by foot, and the road wasn't really dangerous, even at night. And if ever she really was tired, she could always stop and sleep for a few hours near the forest, protected from the wind. Finally, it was still summer, so it shouldn't be too cold, and if she did find the temperatures a bit low, she had brought along a warm sweater.

Her mind made up, she left Hargeon without looking back, motivated by the promise of a warm bed and a good shower once she reached Magnolia. Three hours later she reached the edge of the forest just as the sun fell under the horizon. Lucy had travelled at a good pace and hadn't even stopped to rest, still feeling that she had enough energy to go on for at least another hour or two. The road that she was following was a flat pathway, easy to walk on.

Stopping a few moments, Lucy dug through her bag for a flashlight. With all the clouds tonight, she couldn't walk by the moonlight, so had to light her way if she didn't want to accidentally twist her ankle or something. Fishing out the flashlight, she then swung her bag over her shoulder and continued down the road. Her good pace was soon stopped when the light flickered out. Trying not to feel too exasperated, Lucy shook the flashlight to no avail before taking out the batteries to warm them up in her hands, putting them back in the right way, and turned it on again. To her horror, she barely got a small ray of light before it died out. And of course she hadn't thought of bringing spare batteries.

* _Well, this is just great._ *

Feeling a bit defeated, Lucy walked slowly to the nearest tree, hands reaching out in front of her so that she didn't collide with anything in the dark, and sat at the foot of an oak, her back leaning against the trunk. She let out a long sigh and closed her eyes. A few hours of sleep was the only thing she could do right now, and comforted herself when she thought that, at least, her day couldn't get any worse.

Closing her eyes and letting herself drift off, she didn't have the time to fall asleep when the first drop of water hit her bare shoulder. Her eyes shot open as she felt another drop fall on her cheek.

"You have GOT to be kidding me!", she ranted to no one in particular. Lucy picked herself up, grabbed her bag, and made her way deeper into the forest, stomping her feet and glaring at the shadows surrounding her. She wouldn't go too far in, but just deep enough so that she wouldn't get too soaked if ever the rain really started pouring down.

* _I should have kept my stupid mouth shut. With the stupid job, and the stupid perverts, and the stupid flashlight, and the stupid rain, and the -_ * "Kyaaa!"

While she was fuming and swearing internally, Lucy had tried going around a large bush, not noticing in the dark that there was a pretty steep hill right behind it. Her black pumps had slipped off the edge, and she had slid down the muddy hill on her rear end. At the bottom of the slope, Lucy laid sprawled on the ground for a long time, watery brown eyes gazing up into the darkness as she felt her bag digging into her side, and the cold mud seeping into her pants and back.

She just layed there, mind blank, as she hesitated between crying, screaming out of frustration, hitting something, or maybe all of the above. As long minutes ticked by, the tears didn't roll down her cheeks, so she let out a long sigh for the hundredth time today and slowly sat up, feeling emotionally drained and a bit sedated.

* _Of all the rotten luck today, I really should have just stayed in bed this morning... On the other hand, this could make a great story. If I make it out of this alive, that is._ *

The Celestial Spirit mage was sure that Levy would just love this little adventure of hers. When Lucy had ran away from home three years ago to join Fairy Tail, Levy had been the first one to welcome her. Moreover, with their mutual love for books, the two girls had quickly become great friends. Levy had read a lot more books than her, but Lucy also loved writing her own stories, and ever since she had joined this guild, she always had an adventure to tell. Of course, Levy had quickly found out that Lucy wrote novels, so after a few weeks of begging and buying her off with books, Lucy had accepted to let Levy be the first one to read what she had finished writing. Truthfully, the blond mage didn't really mind, even if she was a bit nervous at first, but she trusted Levy and later realized that she was glad to receive advice and comments from her blue haired best friend.

So yes, Lucy was sure that Levy would have loved this little adventure of hers, and probably would have suggested that she met with a bunch a of robbers at some point, to add a little more action. Lucy stopped her imagination right there. She still wasn't out if the woods yet, literally, and with the amount of bad luck she as having right now, she really didn't need any more action than what she had already gotten.

Her eyes had had time to adjust to the dark, and she could now make out a few shapes around her. Her back was to the slop she had fallen from, but the trees still covered her from the rain. She could vaguely see a small hill on her left, trees farther up on her right, and what seemed like a small dirt covered clearing in front of her. This was a perfect spot to build a fire.

The night wasn't exactly cold, but the mud and rain was starting to make her shiver, so a warm fire would help with drying off her clothes and see her surroundings better. Not wasting anymore time, she stumbled through the darkness, hands skimming the ground in front of her, picking up small branches, and whatever felt like dried grass. After over twenty minutes of fumbling around, and five more digging blindly through her bag to find the box of matches she knew she had somewhere in there, Lucy had finally succeeded in starting a small fire.

She smiled inwardly as she fed it more wood, wondering what her father would have thought of her if he had seen her today. She may not see eye to eye with the man very often, but she had the vague idea that he would have been appalled. She had never once regretted leaving the mansion, and if she had been told four years ago that one day she would be able to light a fire in the middle of nowhere, with little to no light, all by herself, she probably would have laugh it off as a joke.

Once she had a nice little blaze going, she started getting up, and froze. Lucy, half crouched, stopped breathing as she noticed two black eyes looking at her. What she had thought to be a small hill on her left had actually been the form of a curled up dragon.

A nervous laugh bubbled out of her lips before she could hold it back. Cold fear seeped into her faster than the mud had. Her heart was thundering in her chest as she realized that she was now kneeling on the ground, unable to move under the penetrating dark gaze of the beast, the only coherent thought in her mind being that maybe she wouldn't of had minded a few robbers right about now.

She saw the dragon's snout twitch before it let out a long yawn, then just rolled over, showing her its wide scaly back where two leathery wings were folded along. A few seconds later, she heard a low snore, like rumbling thunder, coming from the giant reptile who had fallen into a deep sleep.

Taking in deep breaths, Lucy felt lightheaded all of a sudden. She didn't know if she had just been the unluckiest person alive, or the luckiest one. Still sitting on the mud-covered ground, hair sticking to her face as she felt beads of sweat roll down her back, the blond mage didn't dare to move until she was sure her legs wouldn't just give out on her. As she calmed down, eyes never leaving the sleeping figure in front of her, her mind started coming up with different scenarios.

Running away? If the dragon hadn't attacked her now, or before, running was useless and might make it want to chase after her. But putting a safe distance between her and the huge predator was a very appealing idea.

Killing it? She was on unknown territory, couldn't see her surroundings very well, was tired, and had less than half of her magic left since she had had Plue summoned all day. She would just get herself killed in an instant.

Capturing it?

Lucy felt a slow smile form on her lips. Master Makarov had been very clear. He didn't want any Fairy Tail members to take up jobs that consisted in hunting down dragons. But this wasn't a job. She just happened to find a dragon in the middle of the forest on her way back from a job. And anyways, wasn't she a Heartfilia? Lucky Lucy of Heartfilia, at that!

Slowly getting up, a determined look in her eyes, she unwound her whip from her hip. She knew she wasn't the strongest mage out there, but she was far from being the dumbest one. Even if she sometimes acted recklessly, she always had a back-up plan. If she could capture this one and train him to hunt or kill other dragons, Fairy Tail would finally be recognized as the strongest guild in Fiore.

Lucy then placed her whip at her feet, far enough to not seem menacing, but close enough if ever she needed it, and stood facing the sleeping dragon, the campfire a few steps behind her.

"Hey! Big guy! Wake up!"

The figure didn't move, but the snoring did stop, making Lucy wonder if it had even been asleep this whole time, or if it had faked sleeping in hopes of calming her down. She knew dragons could be smart creatures, she just hoped this one wasn't a mindless monster like some of its counterparts.

"Come one, wakie-wake up!"

She heard it let out a long deep sigh before rolling over to it's other side in order to face her once again. The creature was a little less than ten meters away from where she was standing, bead black eyes shining with the flames that were still crackling behind her. It was still a bit dark, but Lucy could guess that its scales were a glossy dark pink. Not letting her nerves get the best of her, she took its attention as a good sign. At least it seemed smart enough to understand her.

"Alright. Can you sit up, please? You know? Sit."

The dragon just looked at her before letting out a harsh gust of wind from its nostrils. Lucy's loose hair flew around her as dust swirled at her feet. She quickly closed her eyes, taking that as a "No". When she was sure that no dust would get into her eyes, she opened them again to see that the dragon had lifted it's head slightly off the ground, eyes fixed at something behind her. Glancing back, she noticed that the dust had covered the fire, weakening it, and that had seemed to bother the big reptile.

Turning her attention back to the big scaly being in front of her, she noticed that it kept its eyes focused on the fire as it let its long pointy tongue stick out, as if licking hungrily its lips… a very human looking gesture. Unnerved a bit by that action, she took a step to the side, blocking the flames from the hungry dragon's view. At that, the dragon leaned a bit to the side in order to keep its eyes on the campfire. Again, she stepped back in front of the flames, getting the same reaction from the big reptile.

Seeing this, Lucy picked up a long branch and dipped the end into the fire, earning herself the dragon's full attention as it lifted its long neck from the ground. Lucy couldn't help the giddy feeling bubbling inside her; this new twist was going to work in her favor. As she raised the flaming stick between her and the massive beast, she waved it from left to right, then drew random patterns into the air, smiling as the dragon's head followed everyone of her movements.

"You want some?"

His gaze barely flickered to her before falling back on the flames slowly eating up her makeshift torch. With a bit more confidence, and her heart pounding with excitement in her chest, she tried again.

"If you want it, then sit."

Glancing once towards her before looking at the flames slowly dying out on her branch, the dragon let out a long exasperated sigh. Ever so slowly, the beast rose to its paws, towering over her. Suddenly, Lucy felt very small and fragile in front of this imposing creature that could kill her with a single swipe of its talons, and claim her little campfire for itself.

But as the ten meter long reptile got up, it started to lean back, and sat down on its haunches, its tail coming up to curl in front of its sharp talons. Lucy couldn't believe it. The dragon had actually listened to her! Her feet started moving on their own as she walked towards the pink scaled creature, raising the flaming branch between them. The dragon then lowered its large scaly head and breathed in the flames, snuffing out the fire that had been eating away at the branch.

Lucy was in awe as the dragon started looking pointedly at her, then at the flames behind her, then at her again. She let out a surprised squeak, letting the burnt branch fall to the ground, when the dragon gently nudged her with his snout towards the dying campfire. Seeing that she had no attention of moving, the dragon gave her another small push towards the fire. Looking at the dragon that still had its eyes fixed on her little campfire, she suddenly understood what it wanted.

"You-you want some more?"

Not moving its snout from next to her, the tip of the dragon's tail started wagging as the big lizard realized that she was willing to share more of her campfire with him. Lucy couldn't help the shaky laugh that left her lips.

"What are you? A dog?"

Her laughter didn't stop as she picked up the branch that she had let fall, and made her way back to her bag, the dragon following her close.

After an hour of reviving the small blaze, and feeding the pink scaled dragon, Lucy stood up, full of confidence and determination, and pointed her finger at the dragon that barely gave her a glance has he licked the campfire's flames from time to time.

"All right dragon. I'm Lucy Heartfilia, and I'll be the first mage in history to tame a dragon! So be prepared!"

* * *

 **I would like to give a big shout out to Nitebreaker, Sakura Akari, Miki, fanficfanaticxoxo, semerald777, fanficlove2014, assassinwriter, limgreenelmo and ultimatebishoujo21 for the Favs/Follows and/or Reviews on the last chapter.**

 **Thank you!**


	4. The chase

**Hello dear Reader!**

 **After Lucy's little adventure, we're back to following Levy!**

 **It's funny how the chapters I'm writing for Lucy are more fun and/or ridiculous situations, while Levy's chapters are turning out a bit more serious… or at least as serious as a Fairy Tail fic. can get x)**

 **Wow, over 700 views, THANK YOU! :)**

 **Enjoy the read! :)**

 **Side notes :**

Narration

"Talking"

 _*Thinking*_

 **Disclaimer : I do not own** _ **Fairy Tail**_

* * *

 **Levy**

The three days of travel to reach Rusty Creek, a small village southwest of Crocus, was exhausting. Levy had left Magnolia early, on the 6 o'clock train to the capital city, arriving two days later in Crocus. She didn't waste any time sightseeing as she hopped into the first available carriage and left for the little village at the foot of the western mountains.

The voyage was long and uncomfortable due to the poor state of the roads they were traveling by. The sun was hot and the air dry, clouds of dust followed the carriage, and Levy felt her clothes stick uncomfortably to her clammy skin. She was glad that this journey would soon come to an end. She had finished the three books she had brought with her in the train, so was either watching the scenery pass by, or reviewing the job request she had taken.

She hadn't believed her luck when she had seen the request. It was a job from the village where the rumors of a dragon having been spotted came from. She honestly thought that she would have had to take a job in Crocus, and then head out for a few days to Rusty Creek.

The small village was at the foot of the western mountains, rich in minerals and ores. When spring came, the snow would melt and the cold waters would make its way down the rocky slopes full of iron particles. The rivers and creeks would then take on a light orange tint from all the rust drained from the mountains, giving the nearby village its name, Rusty Creek.

Even if the small town was in the middle of nowhere, lost at the foot of the mountains, it was still famous for it's metal works. Jewel merchants came from all over Fiore in order to buy the best quality metals and gems. So yes, the town was small and in the middle of nowhere, but it was rich. Rich in wealth, and rich in their knowledge on mineralogy. There were also legends saying that the town had originally been founded close to the mountains after a geologist had found a mine overflowing with lacrima stones. Of course, in this day and time, the only mines left were filled with gold, silver, iron, copper, and from time to time the miners opened up cavities filled with all kind of crystals and precious gems.

When the carriage finally stopped it's relentless saying on the town's Main Square, Levy would have jumped and cheered if her stomach hadn't felt so fragile. Nevertheless, the blue haired mage hopped out of the carriage, paid her driver, and wandered around for a hotel. The sun had already set over the mountains, darkening considerably the streets even if the first stars were barely out, but she didn't really mind since the beautifully carved iron street lamps lit her way just fine.

She wasn't exactly sure of the time, but after three days of travelling, she was in no mood to meet with her client and start her mission. Instead, she figured that she might as well get herself a nice and cozy little hotel room, unwind her sore muscles by taking a good long bath in scalding hot water, and get a good night sleep, in order to be ready for anything tomorrow.

The next morning, Levy was well rested, full of energy, and ready to take on a dragon… or at least a gang of robbers. She wore khaki pants with her brown mountain boots, an orange tank-top with the matching headband holding her locks away from her face, and had strapped a small purse to her belt. She felt like she was ready for anything.

As Levy entered Rusty Creek's museum, a tall and slim woman made her way towards her, high heels clicking on the tiled floor with every step.

"Hello, you must be the Fairy Tail mage."

Her voice was nasal, as if she was talking while pinching the top of her nose, and every one of her words were clearly enunciated, reminding Levy of one of those old court ladies that walked around Crocus in puffed up gowns holding little laced parasols. Except the woman in front of her was wearing a white tailored outfit, with white heels, round silver spectacles, and had her gray hair held back into a tight bun.

"Yes, I am. Levy McGarden, from Fairy Tail. You must be the museum's director?"

The elder woman looked down at her, her eyes scrutinizing the small mage as if evaluating her. After a few seconds, she let out a sigh and waved Levy over for her to follow as she swayed towards the nearest door.

"Yes, Ivana Diamond, Director of Rusty Creek's Mineralogy Museum."

Levy entered the office after Ivana, closing the door behind her before facing the elder woman that had taken a seat behind a grand oak desk.

"So, Miss McGarden. As you may know, here in Rusty Creek, we value our miners' work and take pride in our studies on different minerals. Our collection in this museum is invaluable due to our grand diversity of geological treasures, and of course, their commercial values. You will not find a more dazzling collection of minerals in all of Fiore, or a more secure building west of Crocus. Of course, when the most security enhanced building of a town is fooled, it is of the greatest interest for everyone to be… discreet, on such matters."

"Yes, I understand Ms. Diamond."

"Of course you do, dear. Now, these thieves somehow managed to enter the storing rooms, by hiding in the crates that were supposed to have been containing our latest shipments of fossils for next week's new exhibit. Since my archeologist was on his day off, the contents of the crates were not checked, and when the building closed for the night, the scoundrels got out of their hiding place and cleaned our store room before breaking out from the inside."

Ivana paused, her elbows resting against her desk as her hands crossed under her chin, eyes never leaving Levy that was attentively standing in front of her. Pleased with the serious look she found in the little mage in front of her, she nodded to herself before continuing:

"As cited in the job request you have accepted, you must get back all of the stolen artifacts, and make sure that those scums are brought to justice. Here is a list of all the missing items", she told Levy while pushing a scroll towards the edge of the desk, "And if possible, I would much appreciate if you could complete this task before we are to officially open the new fossil exhibit."

Suddenly, the elder lady got up and started pacing in front of the desk, forcing Levy to take a step back to avoid getting her toes stabbed by those wicked high heels, and continued her rant:

"But the main problem is that this terrible event has occurred 9 days ago. The rascals could be on the other side of Fiore by now! The recording lacrimas in the storing room were destroyed, so we have absolutely no idea what they look and how many thieves there were. And to top it all, the _only_ witness that we found was a homeless drunkard whom _might_ have seen a carriage in the dead of night heading towards the old mines."

Ivana stopped her pacing and headed back to her seat, facing Levy that had been taking in all the information she had been giving her.

"Now dear, I know that it isn't much to go by, but I do wish you the best of luck."

Levy gave her a slight node, picking up the scroll from the wooden table while expecting Ivana to say more, but when she noticed that the museum director had started on paperwork, she bade her goodbyes and left the office, releasing a sigh she hadn't known that she had been holding. Good thing the job was well paid, because Levy had lost all the energy she had this morning just by talking to Ivana Diamond.

 _*Why do I have a bad feeling about this job?*_

Half an hour later, Levy was slowly, but steadily, climbing up the mountain towards the mines, her traveling pack heavy, but comforting. She had visited the town's library before leaving, and had taken with her maps of all the tunnels that had been dug since the foundation of Rusty Creek. And that made for a lot of tunnels. When one tunnel didn't give anymore ores, it was abandoned so that another one could be excavated, until it dried out and in turn found itself abandoned. Levy was actually impressed that the mountain hadn't collapsed yet, with all the holes that had been dug through it. She was pretty sure that if the mount was cut in half, it would look a lot like cheese.

As the first caves came in sight, the small mage was actually starting to ask herself if she really could handle such a dangerous job solo. Then again, if she couldn't take on a measly gang of thieves, how was she ever going to kill a dragon?

Steeling herself, Levy hastened her pace, determined to catch the robbers, get all of the goods back, find that dragon and finish him off. She was going to have to play it smart since this was a mission that needed more bronze than brains, but if she played her cards right, she should be able to find the artifacts before the day of the exhibit, and still have enough time to look for the dragon that had been spotted not too far. But first thing's first, she had to find the right tunnel the robbers had taken, since the mines were the only passageways that reached the other side of the western mountains, in order to reach the closest town. Looking closely at the maps she had borrowed from the village, she saw that only three tunnels passed all the way through the mountains to reach the other side, and one of those tunnels was a natural cave a bit more north into the mountains, compared to where she was right now. She crossed that one out. If the crooks had escaped in a carriage, then they couldn't of had taken the narrow pathways weaving through the peaks.

She spent the next 3 days searching the mines. She started with the abandoned ones situated at the far east, closing them off with tracking spells once she was done searching them. If someone tried entering or exiting one, she would know instantly. Slowly making her way to the western tunnels, she was very thorough with her work. She didn't bother with the mines that were still being excavated; if the miners saw anyone suspicious, especially if the robbers were supposed to be pulling around a carriage full of precious stones, the town officials would have found the stolen goods by now. So Levy continued with her search, crossing off the paths that she had already scouted from her maps.

It was strange how dark and cold the tunnels became. Levy barely made it a few meters into a tunnel before the temperature dropped enough to make her shiver, but she was prepared. Warm clothes and a LIGHT spell that allowed her to see the way, Levy left no dead-end unsearched, no crack unchecked and no stone unturned. On the morning of the fourth day, the blue haired mage woke up with the first rays of the sun, snuggling deeper into her sleeping back in hopes to get a few more minutes of sleep. But when the wind picked up and a few droplets of rain started falling, she quickly got up to pack-up her things, ready to explore the cave she had camped in front of for the night.

This tunnel was one of the natural caves. The mouth of the cavern was wider than the other man-carved mines, but from her plans, she knew that it didn't go as deep. Drawing her hand up in front of her, Levy wrote out her LIGHT spell and made her way into the humid grotto. She was amazed at how quiet it was, and at how the light shone off the water-covered walls, making them glimmer as if they had been sprinkled with gold dust.

As she marveled at the stalactite covered ceiling, her foot hit something, making her fall face first over the object in the middle of the path. Levy got up clumsily, feeling the scrapes on her hands and knees burn, before looking down at what had make her trip. It was round, made of wood and looked an awfully lot like… a wagon wheel? The floors being solid rock, she had never found any wheel tracks, but finding a carriage wheel right now, in a tunnel she knew finished in a dead-end, even if it had been almost two weeks... maybe she still had a chance to find the thieves!

Killing her LIGHT spell, Levy cast a 'Night-vision' enchantment on herself, slowly making her way to the deeper end of the cave. After a few minutes walk, she started hearing small noises, reminding her vaguely of a whimpering puppy. With her night-vision, she was able to see three shapes, bundled up together, sobbing quietly in the pitch-black darkness, and behind them, a tipped over carriage. Levy wasn't sure if she had found her culprits, or not. Maybe these were travelers that had taken the wrong tunnel on their way to the city across the mountains?

Dissipating her enchantment, and lighting up the cave around her, she got a good view of the three figures… a good view she would have preferred not seeing when she realized that the three forms in front of her were bottoms clad in black. Big, round, oversized, human behinds.

Noticing that a light had appeared, the three sobbing figures stilled, whispering something that Levy didn't catch, before all three men stood up.

Levy's eyes almost popped out of their sockets when she saw them. The three men were entirely clad in black spandex outfits that left absolutely nothing for the imagination to guess, much to Levy's disgust, as the three took a pose with their very large derrières in full view while the tallest one pointed towards her as he started talking:

"Who goes there?"

Levy stood there, speechless, vaguely wondering if she could cast an amnesia spell on herself to forget that the last few minutes of her life had ever happened.

"We are the Jiggle Butt Gang! The greatest thieves in all of Fiore!"

At those words, Levy sobered up and looked to the carriage behind them. Taking a few careful steps around the weird trio still posing, she came next to the turned over vehicle, noticing that a few fossils had been scattered with the fall.

"How long have you been here?"

The question got out before she could help herself. If the robbery had taken place about two weeks ago, why were they barely two days ride away from the crime scene? Not that she was complaining or anything, but still.

"We're not very sure. We arrived at a city in the dead of night, and we saw some guys filling up this carriage with crates. Since they were coming from the back of the biggest building of the town, we figured that they were the dudes that did the Bank relays, so we got on the carriage and drove to the mountains so that no one would find us. It was the perfect plan!"

"Hum, Leader, I don't think we should be telling a stranger all the details…", said the smallest and roundest man of the trio.

"Shut up Lackey B! I'm Leader, so you both have to listen to me" bickered the tallest one of the bunch that was standing in the middle of the formation.

 _*You've got to hand-it to them*_ , Levy thought, _*They can really hold a pose for a long time.*_

"But Leader", said the gangly one to the left, wearing a weird version of a mullet cut in his straight black hair, "It wasn't a Bank carriage like you thought it was. Instead we got a bunch of rocks…"

"Lackey A! You'll give me 100 push-ups for your insubordination!"

Lackey A, apparently that was his name, let out a small "yes sir" before dropping to the ground and started doing push-ups. Ignoring the idiots' antics, Levy had to ask the question that was burning her tongue.

"You've been here for almost two weeks?"

Pleased by the attention he was getting, Leader spoke up again, taking dramatic poses with his butt curved up.

"We entered a cave three days after our great exploit! The sun was burning our skins, so we decided to cool down in the tunnels…", his eyes grew wide with realization, fear visible in his feature as he whispered his next words, "… but we weren't alone... There was a _monster_ with us!"

Levy felt her back stiffen at his words.

"It was huge and scaly and shiny, with evil red eyes! So we ran… hum… I mean, we fought it off bravely! But as the battle went on, we were chas- backed-up! Yes, we were backed-up into this cave, but the wheel of our vehicle broke, breaking the lamp in the fall. And we've been here ever since."

Her mind was spinning. The three idiots in front of her had seen the dragon! Well, they hadn't gone and said the word dragon, but the description was enough for her. She definitely wouldn't let them bail out on her before she got them to talk.

"Alright, where's the monster now? And… how did you survive so long without food?"

"The monster? No idea, once the carriage tipped over, we heard a roar, then nothing. He was probably scared off by our Gas Butt Triple Ecstasy attack."

Leader looked very proud as Lackey A stopped his push-ups to hold a pose where all three were in a triangle, their posteriors up in the air, rubbing their butt-cheeks together.

 _*This is getting more and more disturbing… Maybe, for my mental health, a dragon would be better than those three.*_

"As for how we heroically survived all this time trapped in here. Well let's just say that once our food provisions were finished, we decided to recycle our own-"

"STOP! That's okay, actually, I don't want to know."

The Leader huffed at her statement. If she didn't want the answers, then she shouldn't of asked him the question. Then he noticed that the light around them was actually due to a spell floating over the small blue haired woman in front of them.

"By the way. Who did you say you were again?"

Advancing towards them so that she was between the trio and the antics, Levy took a fighting stance, ready to throw a spell as she answered them.

"I am Levy McGarden, a Fairy Tail mage. And I was sent to catch you three thieves and bring back the goods you have stolen from Rusty Creek's museum!"

At that, the three looked a bit panicked as Leader shoutout to his two Lackeys to fall into formation. Ready to shield herself from any kind of attack, she saw the trio form a triangle with their buttocks before screaming in unison:

"GAS BUTT TRIPLE ECSTASY!"

Levy was taken off guard by the explosion as the most awful smell she had ever encountered filled her nostrils and burned at her eyes. Thinking quickly before she threw up, or even fainted, the script mage drew out the word GUST as the walls started shaking around her. The gust of wind she had summoned cleared out the toxic smell, and knocked back the Jiggle Butt Gang. Levy didn't have time to celebrate her small victory when she saw that the tremors that their attacks had generated was making dust fall around her. She took a step back as a loose rock fell in front of her, soon making the rest of the tunnel's ceiling cave in between her and the trio of wannabe thieves.

 _*Drats.*_

Since she had switched places with the three idiots earlier when she placed herself between them and the broken carriage, she was now trapped in a tunnel with no exit. And now she was going to lose her only lead to the location of the dragon.

 _*Damned.*_

Taking in a deep breath, she focused on a spell that could get her out fast, so that she could chase after them, without making the rest of the ceiling fall on her head. But her thoughts were abruptly interrupted when she heard a low kind of growl that resonated through her body. She stiffened, canceling her LIGHT spell as fear seeped into her bones, heart hammering into her chest as the darkness closed in on her.

 _*Oh Shit!*_

She wasn't the only one trapped in here.

* * *

 **Thank you to Lollipoplozzy, Dark Shining Light, Blundermoon, AppleDapple, Lizzie2145, Varentena, xXZeruto LoverXx, , Dvel732732, SpeedyMomentum, Nertera, Black Fox Kenzie, ElysseRavenRose12, LunarFlowerGirl, and Go to bed, for the Favs/Follows and/or Reviews on the second chapter :)**

 **Thank you! *Bows***


	5. All the cats are blue

**Bonjour cher Lecteur!**

 **I've been having all of these sadistic ideas for the past few days, which is actually weird for me since I REALLY don't like it when other writers stop at a cliffhanger and make you suffer through the wait of a few chapters before going back to the main plot to FINALLY know what happened. So I always told myself that I would never do that. But strangely, writing it myself, I can't help but laugh evilly *Mouahahahaha!***

 **But don't worry, I'm still nice in this chapter. :)**

 **Side notes :**

Narration

"Talking"

 _*Thinking*_

 **Disclaimer : I do not own** _ **Fairy Tail**_

* * *

 **Lucy**

When a chill coursed through her body, Lucy curled up on herself to keep warm, slowly waking up as her eyes squinted against the rays of sun filtering through the green canopy. She had fallen asleep on the ground; head on her bag and her back to the fire and the dragon.

 _*The dragon!*_

Bolting upright, eyes now wide awake, Lucy looked around for her scaly new pet. After a few seconds of looking around the empty clearing, she felt a pang of disappointment as her eyes stopped on the cold ashes of her campfire. She really shouldn't have been surprised. It was a wild animal after all. It had let her get close to feed him, and just like any alley cat, once the bowl of food was empty, it left. But it still left Lucy with a bitter taste.

Rising to her feet, she dusted herself off as best she could, glaring at the mud spots all over her jeans. It was going to be a pain to get all of those stains off, but then again, her pants had been torn in many different places, making her doubt that she would be able to salvage them. They weren't her favorite jeans, per say, but it was still a shame to throw a good pair of pants to the trash after a disastrous walk in a forest.

 _*Speaking of disasters...*,_ thought the blond mage as she wearily eyed the dirt hill she had fallen from last night.

It took her a good twenty minutes of slow climbing to get to the top, even if the slope wasn't more than 7 meters high, it was still pretty steep, and full of ambushes. During her climb, her foot somehow managed to take leverage on every single loose rock in her way, nearly giving her a heart attack every time a rock gave away from under her. Her progress was also hampered when the soil she held on to crumbled to dust as she shifted her weight onto it. She also had almost slid back to the bottom of the slope when a root she was using to pull herself up broke in her hand, but she had miraculously regained her balance fast enough to keep herself from tumbling backwards. The only good news in all of this being that the dirt was dry enough so that she didn't find herself sliding down a muddy slide again.

When Lucy finally rolled herself off the small hill, pushing her way through the shrubs that had kept her from seeing the dangerous slope the night before, she laid on the ground for a few minutes, staring into space as she calmed her beating heart. She felt her muscles burning from the effort, but was glad that she had gotten herself out of this predicament without anything more than a few scratches here and there.

Making her way back out of the forest, Lucy roughly combed her fingers through her hair, trying to straighten them out, before quickly giving up. They were caked up into a dry and tangled mess. The only way she was ever going to succeed in untangling them was under a warm spray of water, and with the help of half a bottle of her strawberry and vanilla conditioner shampoo.

The promise of a long relaxing bath, and clean clothes, was the only thing that got the Celestial Spirit mage going, speeding up her pace when the main gates to Magnolia came into view, unaware of the two figures following her into the town.

Lucy headed straight for her apartment building; after the chaotic 36 hours had she just passed, the Guild Master would probably forgive her if she didn't report until tomorrow morning. Right now she looked like a total wreck, her feet were hurting from all the walking she had done, dried mud covered her like a second skin, and she was starting to get a headache from the lack of sleep. Nope, she really didn't think Makarov would mind if she waited until tomorrow to make an appearance at the guild.

Climbing to the second floor of the building, Lucy dragged her mud covered sneakers across the wooden floor, vaguely aware that her landlady wouldn't be too happy with her bringing in so much dirt into the hallway, but she just couldn't really make herself care right now.

Opening her door, the blond mage locked it right behind her, leaning against it in order to remove her shoes before making her way to the bathroom, throwing her bag on the bed as she made her way there. She really liked her apartment, it truly was worth every jewel she paid each month for it, even if some thought it was a bit expensive, but she didn't care, she wouldn't have traded it for the world.

It was small and cozy, with a small tiled kitchenette taking up the right half of the apartment, and a round table with four wooden chairs separating the the space in half. On the left corner, along the wall that faced the entry way, was her bed just under a window, and pushed against the same wall, a bit more to the right, was her paper covered desk. She also had a huge wooden closet taking up the wall directly to her left, and a door facing her bed that lead to a small bathroom. The rest of the space in front of her was taken up by a big forest green couch that faced a TV that was hooked on the wall, between the bathroom door and her entry way.

Once Lucy was inside her white and blue tiled tub, she stripped, throwing her mud stained clothes to the far end of the bath, before turning the water on. By the time she got out of the shower, steam had invaded the entire room, fogging up the mirror above the sink so that she could barely make out her silhouette. Hair still dripping, a towel wrapped around her naked body, Lucy exited the steaming room, only to be met by a fresh breeze, making her stop as goosebumps ran down her arms.

 _*Did I forget to close my window?*_

As she made her way to close the half opened window, she froze, looking at her bag that was moving on it's own. Eyes glued to the mud covered backpack, she waited a few seconds to see if the satchel had really moved, or if it had just been her tired imagination; praying that it really was her imagination. Unfortunately, she knew that there really WAS something rummaging through her bag when a long blue tail waved its way out of the tipped over sack.

Clad in only a towel, she looked around and reached for a pile of paper that was lying on her desk, rolling them up into a tube, ready to use it as a baseball bat to defend herself against the blue wild animal that was backing its way out of her backpack. Starting from the tail, she then saw two hind legs, a small green bag attached around a neck, then a head with two small ears that popped out of the opening of the bag.

"You're a _blue_ cat. That's… odd."

Seeing that it had been spotted, the blue cat faced the girl, standing up on its hind legs as it started to lift its right paw up, making Lucy arch a brow at the scene.

"Aye! I'm Happy!"

The blond looked at the cat that had just talked, speechless, her eyes as wide as saucers.

 _*A_ talking _blue cat!*_

"Would you have any fish?"

He shook her head, trying to get her stunned thoughts together.

 _*At least that's a normal request for a cat… except for the part that he used WORDS to ask for a fish, but still…*_

"Hum… Happy, was it?"

"Aye!", answered the cat energetically, his right paw still up in the air.

"I'm sorry, I don't have fish in there."

As she pointed to her bag, the blue cat lowered his paw, his little ears falling with his head, as he looked dejectedly at the bag.

"Oh, okay."

The words had barely left his mouth that the strange cat started rummaging through her things again, much to Lucy's growing annoyance.

"Oi, cat…!"

Her words died in her mouth when Happy, after throwing half of her stuff out of her bag and onto her bed, took out her box of matches, holding up the small object in his left paw, and towards the sky in triumph. Just by looking at the cat posing while holding out his treasure, she could almost hear a silly little chiming music in the background. Until two white wings spread out from the cat's back, making Lucy drop her makeshift weapon as she stared flabbergasted at the animal in front of her, lifting itself off of her bed.

 _*A_ flying _talking blue cat… weird.*_

"Thanks for the matches!"

When the very strange cat flew out of her window, Lucy stood there, unmoving, staring at the spot Happy had disappeared from. Her brain took a few minutes to process all the new information she had gotten, and the more it made connection, the more the busty blond became angry, until she snapped.

"That THIEVING flying talking blue cat!"

Now that she wasn't shell-shocked anymore, Lucy felt her anger fill her with energy; she was ready to Lucy-kick that stupid cat into next week! Grabbing the first clothes in front of her, she ran out of her apartment in a white mini skirt and a matching blue rimmed top, her keys and whip attached to her hip, as she ran down the street. Her eyes were glued to the sky as she spotted a small blue flying figure passing over the roofs of nearby houses. She followed her pray through the streets, her black boots slapping the pavement as she ran.

After nearly losing him from her sight a few times, Lucy finally made it out of Magnolia, eyes locked on Happy. The match robber was heading towards the woods next to the city. It wasn't a really big forest, but still, she could easily lose him if she wasn't careful. She had often visited these woods, and she knew that there was a little river nearby that was perfect for fishing.

Not letting her steps falter, Lucy raced to where she had seen the flying cat lose altitude. After running in that direction for a few moments, she came to a small clearing bordered by a river. The blond mage came to a stop as she saw the blue cat land in front of the most stunning dragon that she had ever seen... Not that she had actually seen another dragon to compare it too, but she honestly hadn't seen much of the dragon's colored scales last night.

The huge reptile was sitting on its haunches, head leaned forward to inspect what the cat was doing at its feet, his leathery wings neatly folded along its back. Lucy stood there, transfixed. The dragon had dark salmon pink scales that seemed to be edged in gold, the same rich gold that colored the two slightly curved horns that were protruding from the top of its skull. But what got her mesmerized was the red hues dancing along its flank when the sun hit the scales. He was beautiful.

"It won't wooooooork! I took broken matches!"

At the winning voice of the blue cat, Lucy looked down at the match thief, ready to cross the last meters separating them in order to pull out his whiskers for entering her house, rummaging through her bag, and stealing her stuff. Unfortunately, the very big and imposing dragon standing right next to the cat kept her grounded to her current spot.

"That weirdo let me steal matches that don't even light up."

The blond felt her eyebrows twitch before pointing angrily at Happy:

"You stupid cat you're supposed to strike the red head of the match to the side of the box that has the brown dots!"

The dragon barely turned its head to look at her, its eyes as black as night, while Happy jumped in the air and flew on the dragon's head, hiding behind one of its horns.

"Natsu! Run! it's the crazy weirdo that gave me the broken matches."

"I don't want to hear that sort of insult from a flying and talking blue cat! And may I point out that YOU stole those from my bag you stupid cat! What the hell do you need matches for anyways?"

Great, she was arguing with a cat, could her day get any weirder?

"I'm not a cat, I'm an Exceed! And my best friend, Nastu, is a fire dragon, he needs to eat fire to survive."

Lucy looked at them, arms crossed under her breasts, clearly not impressed.

"Since he's a fire dragon, can't he just light a tree on fire and eat up the flames?"

The cat looked at her with a shocked expression, then shivered with disgust as he answered her.

"Ew, gross. Would you eat your own arm if you were hungry? No. That's why we needed the matches you used last night to light up the campfire."

At his words, she realized that the dragon sitting in front of her was the same dragon that she had ordered around last night.

"So his name is Natsu?"

Her voice had been soft this time, but the dragon had heard her and slowly nodded its big scaly head. Apparently it... Natsu, was smarter than she had first thought, since it seemed to be able to communicate with the little blue Exceed, and also understood her when she talked to him. But thinking of Exceed...:

"If Natsu's the dragon from last night, why didn't I see you too, Happy?"

"I was sleeping in the tree next to Natsu. But your snoring woke me up."

"I do not snore you flying fur ball!"

This Exceed was downright infuriating, and made her feel like fighting an ever losing battle. Letting out a long sigh, the blond mage started taking careful steps towards the huge beast, hands out in front of her to show that she wasn't going to attack them:

"Alright, pass me the matches, I'll help you get a fire started."

The dragon never took its eyes off of her as she calmly collected the dry branches of wood she was going to need. The Celestial Spirit user built the campfire in record time, setting it between her and the dragon. While working the flames into a good sized blaze, Happy sat next to her, watching her feed more wood to the fire. When her task was complete, she gave a bright smile to Natsu, telling him that he could eat up now. That earned her another tail wagging from the giant pink lizard.

The pink scaled reptile crouched down next to her, letting a long pointy tongue wound itself around the flames before breathing them in. He then laid his snout right next to her thigh, those deep onyx eyes looking at her expectantly. After a few minutes, the dragon turned its head back to the flames that were burning bright once again, and snuffed in half of them before putting its snout back where it was, nearly touching Lucy's upper legs.

As his slow warm breaths washed over her, bringing her a smell of ashes and pine trees, Lucy reached out to him timidly. The dragon didn't move, his gaze completely focused on her as she brushed one fingertip on the dark pink scales right on top of his snout. When she saw him close his eyes, a low purr rumbling through his body, Lucy took that as a good sign and started drawing random patterns with her fingers, marveling at the smooth steel like feeling of the scales that were strangely very warm under her touch.

* * *

 **I would like to give a big shout out to: the Guests, ana dragneel-chan, Whatstoknow, 1Ring2ruleThemAll, Sakura Akari, Nitebreaker, darklaughter, emily hein.14, MrsKittyCommander, acciofandoms, MrTonyOnline, Tonio Carriedo, The Ranting Loon and fanficlove2014, for the Favs/Follows and/or Reviews on the last chapter!**

 **Thank you for reading this story :)**


	6. First meetings

**Hello again dear Reader!**

 **This chapter should answer a question that I've been asked a lot. Hope you enjoy it!**

 **Side notes :**

Narration

"Talking"

 _*Thinking*_

 **Disclaimer : I do not own** _ **Fairy Tail**_

* * *

 **Gajeel**

He had been careless. Then again, 'careless' was a pretty big understatement. Truth be told, he had completely and utterly screwed up.

It had been a beautiful night; with not a single cloud in the sky, a full moon basking his surroundings in its silvery glow, and a dark sky powdered with stars. It truly was a breathtaking sight.

He had been minding his own business, scraping his large claws against the walls of the mountain to collect iron for his midnight snack, when he heard the steady noise of wooden wheels against the hard stone floor. At the time, he really didn't think any of it. The large iron dragon was the strongest predator around, he didn't fear anything, and honestly, even if it was a full moon, he didn't think any creature would be able to spot him in the shadows. So he ignored the presence, laying low against the mountain's rocky cliff, and continued collecting his iron.

What he hadn't planned on was that the intruders with the wagon had entered his lair without him noticing. But honestly, who would be stupid enough to enter the deep end of a cave, in the dead of night, with a small oil lamp as their only source of light? Add to that the fact that the tunnels to this specific cave lead to a dead end; anyone with a map would know that, and nobody was dumb enough to venture inside the maze like mines without a map.

Boy had he been wrong. If he had known who the three mages pushing the stolen carriage were, he would have chased them out the second he had heard them come up the mountain path.

A few hours later, after having finished his meal, the iron dragon made his way to the far end of the tunnels, just before the sun rose and shone over the mountains. After about thirty minutes, he suddenly found himself in front of three screaming humans. For human males, they surely could reach a high note, making his sensitive ears ring.

The dragon looked down on them, cold red eyes pinning the three figures in their place. They seemed to be clad in black latex, which would explain why he hadn't picked up on their sent. That is until the three shaking figures formed a triangle with their butt cheeks, crying out in unison: Gas Butt Triple Ecstasy.

The strongest, and most vile, smell he had ever encountered started burning his nostrils, making his eyes cry and stomach churn. Without thinking, the dragon tried opening his silvery wings to blow the toxic cloud away, but the space was too narrow and his long scaled wings grazed against the walls. As the tunnel started to tremble, the three intruders ran to their wagon, pouring magic into the carriage in order to make it move faster.

Behind them, the dragon couldn't take the smell anymore and let out a long roar, hoping it would dispel a bit of the gas. The terrorized latex clad mages, in their hurry to run for their lives, weren't careful on where they were going, and one of the wheels hit a hole, breaking it off from its axis. The huge reptile barely had time to see the carriage wobble on a few meters before it tipped over on its side. As the vehicle crashed to the ground, the little oil lamp that hung in front of the wagon was smashed on the rocky floor, plunging them all into darkness.

The dragon really didn't mind, since he could see perfectly in the dark, but the problem was that the tipped over carriage, and the three weeping idiots in front of him, were in the middle of his path. As imposing as he was, there was no way he would get past them without the humans noticing. He could always get out and find another lair, but all of his stuff was at the bottom of that tunnel, and he really didn't want to leave his horde, no matter how small it was. He vaguely thought that he could just kill off the puny humans and be done with it, but he quickly squashed that idea away. If they could produce such a horrible gas alive… what would it be when they were dead? Trying to not think of it, he decided that he would just sneak past the still crying trio that had huddled together, and stay in the back of his lair, waiting for them to leave. Once the three humans felt themselves safe enough, surely they would run back outside, right?

The iron dragon then did something he hadn't done since the death of his father, Metalicana. He turned back into his human form. He let is long blade like wings disappear into his shoulder blades, the large scales covering entire portions of his body soften into smooth tanned skin, his talons retracted themselves, giving way to large hands. As he shrunk in size, he felt his tail disappear and his spine straighten out, while his hind legs snapped themselves to a different angle, allowing him to walk on two legs like any other human.

This was a secret that the dragon people had managed to keep hidden from the humans ever since the end of the Dark Ages. Metalicana had mostly taught him how to fight and defend himself, always saying that there will be better times for them to talk about their people's history, but there were some things that his father had had time to tell him before his death. And being careful around humans, so that this preciously kept secret wouldn't come to the dragon hunting guilds' knowledge, was one of them.

Even in his human form, he was still pretty tall and imposing, with large toned muscles, long black spiky hair, red piercing eyes, sharp teeth, and iron studs aligned on his arms and face. He honestly didn't like this form. He felt so weak and exposed without his iron scales to protect him, but at least now he would be able to pass next to the broken wagon without being spotted.

Making his way silently to the end of the tunnel, he reached his lair, where his best friend laid, sleeping peacefully on a large worn out sofa.

"Oi, Pantherlily, we've got a problem."

His voice was deep and gruff, even if he tried keeping it low, not wanting to alert anyone else of his presence. If ever his voice was to echo back to the three idiots who were still whimpering not a hundred meters away from them, this would only make things more bothersome.

With a small yawn and a stretch, the black Exceed woke up, rubbing away the sleep from his eyes with his little paws. His little round ears twitched as his white snout sniffed the air.

"What's that horrible smell near the entrance, Gajeel?"

The iron dragon let out a long sight, not wanting to get into the unpleasant details with the cat.

"We have three intruders. Their wagon broke in the middle of the tunnels while they were running away."

The in the dark, the Exceed's scarred gaze became serious as he crossed his front paws over his chest, standing up on the couch to look at Gajeel.

"And why were they running away?"

 _*Damn cat's too smart for his own good sometimes*_ , Gajeel thought to himself as he reached for a large wooden chest that rested against a cave wall. He cleared his throat as he started digging through the chest for clothes, taking a few moments before answering:

"They might have seen me in my dragon form."

The now human dragon didn't look at his friend, but knew he was probably rubbing his chin with one of his paws, thinking of a way to fix this.

"Gajeel, you do know that now rumors are going to spread that there's a dragon in these caves, and we're going to have to move out. Again. We were already very lucky that the miners that saw you last week were so drunk that they barely remembered seeing you."

Gajeel let out a small grunt, putting on a long sleeveless black coat torn at the edges, long black pants, and matching battle boots. He was already aware that they had been very lucky that no hunter had came and searched for them, but when the three mages got out of here, the word that a dragon was hiding out here would spread like wildfire.

Seeing that his partner was already starting to worry, the black Exceed sat back down, curling up into a ball before adding:

"Well, what's done is done. We'll leave once the tunnels are cleared."

Giving a small nod towards the now softly snoring cat, Gajeel sat down on his half of the couch, legs stretched out in front of him but crossed at his ankles. He leaned back and closed his eyes, crossing his arms over his torso, and keeping an ear out for any noise that would indicate that the mages were leaving. He really hated waiting, but there really wasn't much left for him to do if he didn't want to make this situation any more complicated than what it already was.

Unfortunately for him, the three humans seemed too scared to move from their spot. They were without any light, and far too deep inside the cave for the rays of the sun to reach them. Gajeel was slowly losing his patience as his personal stash of iron dwindled to nothing as he ate it away. Pantherlily would fly in and out of the mine to get food for himself and his dragon friend, and had stopped Gajeel a few times from taking his dragon form and scaring the three sobbing morons out of his lair. After over ten long days, Gajeel couldn't take it anymore, and sent the black Exceed out to the city, to make sure that no hunters had arrived to the city, and to find a spare wheel for the broken carriage. Pantherlily, on his way back, would then lure out, or better yet, drag the idiots away from the cave's tunnels.

A few hours after the Exceed's departure, Gajeel noticed that the constant crying and sobbing had stopped, and that the three males were talking to a more feminine voice. Opening his eyes, he could vaguely make out a soft glow coming from the other side of the bend that separated him and the scene. From afar, he could hear the conversation that was now taking place in the tunnels. Apparently the three mages were actually robbers, and pretty pathetic ones in his opinion, while the female was actually here to catch them.

Gajeel gave out a silent 'thank you' to this mage that would finally get rid of the three nuisances for him. That is until spells were cast and he heard the tunnels cave-in. He couldn't help the frustrated growl that echoed through the cave he was now trapped in. When he noticed that the faint light in the distance had faded away, he got up from his couch and started walking towards the collapsed area.

As he walked around the bend, the sweet smell of rust hit him; mixed with the dusty air, Gajeel could make out an enticing smell of ink. He now knew that the female mage had been sealed in with him, and apparently she had hurt herself, if the faint rusty smell of blood was any indication. This situation was actually very delicate. He couldn't really take his giant reptile form and smash his way to the exit, since that might lead to more rocks falling, and potentially harming the girl. Then again, he wasn't going to just hide out indefinitely in this hole, especially since he was now out of iron to eat.

As he stood there in the middle of the way, arms crossed in front of him has he was debating internally on what to do, a bright light suddenly lit the space.

"Who's there?!"

Gajeel looked down in front of him, his eyes widening slightly in surprise. The female mage that had helped the century old mine collapse was a small woman with deep blue locks. She was such a tiny looking thing who didn't seem very strong, and she had wanted to take on those three guys? Even if they wouldn't have been a match for him, the trio had still been composed of mages. There was no way that she could have…

"How are you?"

Gajeel was snapped out of his musing. Her voice was firm and confidant, and her gaze held his in defiance. The dragon was starting to like her already. For a shorty, she really had spunk.

"Giihii", he couldn't help the smirk that tugged at his lips, revealing his sharp canine, "Name's Gajeel Redfox."

The small mage in front of him held her ground, crossing her arms in front of her to mimic his posture.

"And what are you doing here?"

Much to Gajeel amusement, he just couldn't see her as menacing. And as his smirk grew, so did her annoyance.

"I'm waiting for a friend of mine. And, apparently, YOU got us trapped in here."

At his words, the girl's face turned beat red as she started glaring at the broken wagon next to them.

"Y-Yeah, well, that was an accident. The Jiggle Butt Gang attacked me first. I was just defending myself."

"And now we're trapped."

"Hey! I'll get us out of here, alright? I need to catch and bring them in to the authorities anyways."

Gajeel didn't say anything. He was having too much fun pushing the blue haired mage around. Her reactions were very entertaining, and he never gotten Pantherlily that worked up. Maybe he really should get out more?

Gajeel sat down, cross-legged, as he watch the small mage pace in front of the wall of rubble. She had a stubborn look on her face as she inspected each rock, her brows scrunching up as she concentrated on what magic spell she would use. After glancing his way a couple of times, she let out an exasperated sigh.

"You COULD help out, you know?"

The iron dragon just tilted his head to the side, not moving from his spot. This got her rolling her eyes to the ceiling as she turned back to her task, stomping her way towards the fallen rocks. This only made Gajeel smirk more. Honestly, as long as he kept his distances, she wouldn't have a reason to be scared of him. And the longer she stuck around, the more fun he could have. Not that he was ever going to admit that his current life of hiding out in the mines with an Exceed as his only friend was boring or anything. He would let her come to him, just like he had let Pantherlily become his fighting partner all of these years ago. If it worked with the cat, it should work with the mage too, right?

So Gajeel stayed quiet as he watched her write out the word ACID with the tip of her finger, making the word appear out of thin air and slosh against the rocks. He was actually impressed to see the rocks melt away under her words. This was the first time he had ever seen that kind of magic. After almost an hour of steady melting, Gajeel noticed that she had started to pant heavily. Apparently this was taking a heavy toll on her magic, and if she didn't stop soon, she would probably collapse. Not that it was any of his business, really.

"Hey! Gajeel, you in there?"

The dragon's ears perked up as Pantherlily's voice came from behind the half melted rocks. From the sound of his voice, the little mage in front of him had done a pretty good job, and had almost gotten through the pile of rubble.

"Yeah Lily, we're okay!"

There was a moment of silent as the Exceed on the other side of the wall registered his words before answering:

"Alright, step back, I'll get you out."

Gajeel got up as the blue haired girl took a few steps back hesitantly. He could smell anxiety and worry coming off of her. Then again, who wouldn't be? A fragile looking thing like her, stuck inside a mine with two strangers. He would actually be questioning her survival instincts and sanity if she hadn't shown any signs of being scared.

With a sharp metal sound, the Exceed's burgundy and white blade pierced through the thinnest part of the wall before sliding back out of sight. After a few moments of weakening the spot, a loud 'thud' was heard as the pile of rocks started crumbling on itself.

When the dust cleared, Pantherlily passed through the new entryway, towering over Gajeel, and a now frightened looking blue haired mage, in his battle form. His left scarred eye looked down at the girl before he poofed back to his smaller size. Gajeel would never admit it aloud, but he was very proud of his cat… until the woman crouched down to pick the Exceed up and hug him to her chest, all sign of fear completely gone.

"You are the cutest thing I've ever seen!"

Gajeel, somewhat irked, saw her scratch a very content looking Pantherlily behind the ears as she thanked him for opening up a passageway for them. She might also of had added a few comments insinuating that the small cat was way more reliable than a certain stupid red eyed guy, but he ignored them. He didn't have time for this. Now that he could get out, him and Pantherlily had to leave before any hunters came around.

Walking back to the end of the cave, he picked up the two huge bags he had stuffed his and Lily's belongings inside of, and headed back to where the girl and his cat were. He would say goodbye to the small mage, take Pantherlily with him, head towards the top of the mountains were the clouds would shield them from sight, take his dragon form, and leave Rusty Creeks for good.

"Gajeel, we have to help Levy get this carriage back to the town's museum."

The dragon stopped dead in his tracks, looking at his partner that was standing next to the broken wheel of the wagon, then to the blue haired mage that was on the other side of the cave, picking up the stones that had fallen from the carriage.

"Say what, cat?"

* * *

 **Thank you to : Nashi, Guests, Sakura Akari, AnonymousStalkerFriend, rath11, Sapphire Water Maiden, Compucles, LateNightShips, , FairyVampire-chan, agent000sock, and fanficlove2014, for the Reviews, Follows and Favorites!**


	7. My Prey

**Hello dear Reader!**

 **I had a lot of fun writing this, and I hope that you will enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it! :) It might be a bit shorter than the other chapters, but it's pretty much the continuation of the last update from yesterday. ^^"**

 **Side notes :**

Narration

"Talking"

 _*Thinking*_

 **Disclaimer : I do not own** _ **Fairy Tail**_

* * *

"Gajeel, we have to help Levy get this carriage back to the town's museum."

"Say what, cat?"

Gajeel didn't look very pleased with his partner's statement, and waited for the Exceed to explain himself. Pantherlily had put a paw on the broken wheel that laid next to him, and glanced back to Levy, making sure that she was out of earshot, before whispering to Gajeel:

"I couldn't find a spare wheel, so YOU are going to fix this one, since it is partly your fault that the wagon broke in the first place-"

"Now, listen here cat-"

"AND", the Exceed added firmly, unperturbed by the dragon's deadly scowl, "we are going to help Levy bring these artifacts back to the town's museum. In exchange, she is going to give us half of the reward money that she will be getting for this job. We were running low on jewels anyways."

Gajeel glared at the stubborn cat in from of him before letting their bags slide off his shoulders and hit the ground. If Lily wanted to help the little mage, then he wasn't going to pry into his schemes.

"Fine."

The tall black haired man reluctantly picked up the wheel, and made his way towards the tipped over carriage, lifting it up with one hand to inspect the damage that had been done. He vaguely heard a small squeak as the objects inside the wagon started shifting. A few seconds later, Levy came around the vehicle, finding a very annoyed looking Gajeel sitting on the cavern's floor, holding up the carriage with one hand as he tried placing the wheel back into its axis. Seeing this, the blue haired mage couldn't help but smile at him. Seeing this, Gajeel tried very hard not to blush as started to explain himself.

"The cat told me that you were going to pay us half of your reward if we helped you out. So don't get any ideas."

"Yes, I told Pantherlily that I would share the reward money with you guys for helping me get out of that cave. But HE's the one that suggested that the two of you would escort me back to town."

"Hn."

Shrugging her shoulders at his answer, Levy went back to picking up the artifacts that had fallen out of the wagon when it had crashed to the ground. From her point of view, Gajeel seemed like a big brute, but then again, he hadn't done a single thing that gave her a reason to be wary of him, even if she found it fishy that he had appeared out of nowhere after the cave had collapsed.

A few minutes later, Gajeel had transformed his hand into a hammer, and was hitting the wheel back into place. It wasn't perfect, but at least it would hold out until they reached Rusty Creek. The Exceed and the girl, on their side of the cave, had finished picking up all of the stolen goods, and were strapping them down securely into the back of the carriage.

When Levy climbed up to where the magic reigns were, she felt a large hand pick her up from the back of her collar, only to put her down on the seat next to the driver's. Turning around, with a mad blush covering her face, she glared at the tall man that sat next to her, strapping the magic reigns around his wrists.

"H-hey! I can drive you know!"

"Sure you can Shorty. I bet you're just bursting with energy after all the spells you used to melt the rocks."

She looked at him, mouth open and closing like a fish out of water. When she figured that she really didn't have any good comebacks for him, let it be for the 'Shorty' comment or the rest, she closed her mouth, crossed her harm in front of her, and pouted at the road in front of her. Seeing this from the corner of his eye, Gajeel couldn't help the smirk pulling at his lips, but somehow managed to kill the smile when he saw Pantherlily looking up to him with a sly smile.

"Get on cat, we're wasting daylight."

The Exceed merely shrugged at his statement, and flew towards Levy that opened up her arms to let the little cat settle down on her lap.

When they finally reached the exit, Levy dispelled her LIGHT, and breathed in the fresh afternoon air. She was glad that she had found the museum's artifacts, and even had a few days to spare before the fossil exhibit was to make its grand opening. The only thing that bummed her out was to know that the three robbers had gotten away, not that they were much of a threat to society as much as they were a threat to themselves; but they had still seen the Dragon, and without their help, there was no way she was going to find the scaly bastard. Reluctantly, she undid all the tracking spells she had installed at the entrances of the mines, letting out a defeated sigh.

Noticing her gloomy aura, Pantherlily couldn't help wondering what had gotten the little mage so down.

"You have accomplished your mission, so why the sad face?"

He saw her nibble at her lip before answering, hesitating on her words, as if scared to admit what she was about to say.

"When I came here, it wasn't really for the mission. I'm actually looking for a dragon that had been spotted not too long ago in these mountains."

"Why you lookin' for a dragon, Shorty?"

Levy and Pantherlily both looked up at Gajeel. He had his eyes fixed on the road, his features looking a little pale. Looking down at her feet, she let her hair fall over her features, hiding the tears that threatened to spill over her cheeks. She had cried too much over this tragedy, and she will NOT break down in front of these strangers.

"I'm going to kill the dark scaled dragon that destroyed my town."

"Giihii, and how's a little thing like you gonna take on a mighty beast?"

Now he was just being rude, but seeing the small mage angry was much more entertaining, and pleasing, than seeing her sad. You didn't need to be a genius to figure out that physical strength wasn't her forte, but still, it pissed Levy off that he was looking down on her like that!

"I've got my ways."

And then it hit her. It was so obvious! Why hadn't she figure it out sooner?

"You guys are dragon hunters, aren't you?"

Pantherlily and Gajeel shared a look, not sure on how to answer to that. She saved them from lying when she continued her ramble.

"You are! Of course, why else would you be roaming around the caves? And you are both very strong physically, and that also explains your heavy bags, and why Lily is carrying a sword around."

She took a breath, turning her glare on Gajeel.

"Well, you can't have this one. The dark scaled dragon is mine, so back off. I'll fight you both for it if I have to."

The imposing man with the crimson eyes looked stunned for a second. Had this little shrimp of a human just challenge HIM? If he hadn't been feeling like throwing up because of the wagon's swaying, he would be rolling of laughter on the ground right now, but kept himself in check as Pantherlily entered the conversation.

"Don't worry, there are no more dragons in these mountains. And if there was, it probably left after being spotted by those three humans."

"How can you be so sure?"

Levy looked at the black Exceed, curious on how he could possibly know.

"I'm an Exceed. It's in my nature to be able to find dragons. And trust me when I say that, right now, there are no dragons inside those mines."

The black cat smiled at himself. He hadn't exactly lied, since the only dragon around for miles was sitting outside of the tunnels, right next to them.

"Exceeds? Why haven't I read anything about that in my books?"

Pantherlily shrugged at that question. The ability for a dragon to take a human form was not the only secret that had been kept from the mage guilds after the Great War.

The rest of the trip was spent with Levy and Lily chatting away about the history of Exceeds. She had learned that they hatched from eggs, and lived in small villages in the Edolas Mountains, where they lived peacefully. They could fly, thanks to their wings, and only the strongest ones could take a combat from, like him. She hadn't gotten more details out of the black cat, because the carriage suddenly stopped in from of the museum. She hadn't even noticed that they had entered the town.

Gajeel was the first one to jump off the vehicle, staggering towards the stair that lead to the imposing building, and sat down on the marble step, relieved to finally put some distance, and firm ground, between him and that infernal moving magic sucking contraption.

Meanwhile, Levy had asked Lily to guard the shipment while she climbed the stairs to find the museum's Director. The mage had barely set foot inside the building that the tall and glamorous Ivana Diamond, still dressed in a white outfit, came out of her office, heels echoing loudly throughout the empty entryway.

"Levy! I assume you have found the museum's precious belongings?"

Giving the old lady a bright smile, Levy escorted her back to the carriage were all of the artifacts had been stocked.

"Marvelous! Thank you for your hard work. I'll let you bring all of this inside for you to check the list that I gave you. Once done, I'll bring you your reward."

At her words, a little brunette appeared, presenting herself as the Director's secretary, and that she would be the one showing her the way to the storage room where everything had to be put and examined.

Without Levy even asking, Pantherlily transformed into his combat form and started picking up crates, Gajeel following right after. In no time, the three of them had brought the last of the stones and fossils inside the museum's large storage room. Not wasting anymore time, Levy started unpacking the precious gems and relics, crossing each one off her list before setting them on the shelves, keeping them in the same order as what was written on the list Ivana had given her.

The secretary was still with them, checking off items on her own list, while Gajeel and Lily sat in a corner, watching the two women work.

"Oi, Lily, we're keeping her."

The Exceed, who was back to his small form, looked up at his friend's serious expression that was fixed on the Solid Script mage. Seeing that, he let out a small sigh, slowly shaking his furry head from left to right, before whispering back:

"Gajeel, Levy's a living being, not some stray cat you can just adopt off the street."

Gajeel looked at the small figure lost in the middle of all the wooden boxes, brows scrunched up as she looked around for the next gem she had to check off of her list.

"I don't see your point, cat."

"Now you're just being stubborn, Gajeel. She's a grown woman that has a life somewhere in Fiore. She doesn't need us… And you heard how she feels about dragons."

That last part was barely whispered between clenched teeth as Lily looked back to Levy. She was currently on her tippy-toes, struggling to reach the top of the shelf in order to put down a fossil in it's right place.

"I still don't see your point", came the gruff voice from next to him.

Pantherlily felt a smile tug at the corner of his lips, but only shook his head disapprovingly as Gajeel got up and made his way to Levy. The tall man loomed over her and swiftly picked up the fossil from her delicate fingers, placing the relic on the shelf on top of her.

The small mage barely had the time to let out a small "what the-?" when she saw the tall figure behind her, making a blush creep up her cheeks.

Gajeel stepped back and looked at the mess they still had to clean up.

"What's next, Shorty?"

When she only looked at him with a dumbfounded expression, he added:

"Just tell me which rock's next, it'll go faster that way."

She slowly nodded once before checking the next stone that was on the list. She was actually surprised that he knew so much about geology, and like he had said, in no time they were finished, paid, and out of the museum.

Stretching her back as she jumped down the stairs, Levy turned around to face Pantherlily that was sitting on Gajeel's shoulder.

"Tell me Lily, what would you want in exchange for a service?"

"Depends on the service I guess."

Biting her lips as she mulled over the idea, she suddenly shook her head, steeling herself. She would never accomplish her goal if she didn't take all the help she could get.

"Would you help me hunt down the dragon I'm looking for?"

* * *

 **Thank you jchristie32492, xJessymonx, Go to bed, Sapphire Water Maiden, Lizzie2145, AnonymousStalkerFriend, Nitebreaker, BeastlyTick59, and Darkrexbeta, for the Reviews, Follows and Favorites on the last chapter!**


	8. Trust me

**Greetings dear Reader!**

 **This chapter was actually hard to write, since I'm not very attuned to the personalities of the two characters in it, but here it is! I hope that you enjoy the read :)**

 **Side notes :**

Narration

"Talking"

 _*Thinking*_

 **Disclaimer : I do not own** _ **Fairy Tail**_

* * *

 **Erza**

Today should have been a normal and uneventful day for Erza Scarlet. She had been roaming the East Forest for the past two weeks, getting rid of a few Gorians that had been terrorizing the nearby villages. This job had been ordered by the mayors of the many towns surrounding the forest, and was probably meant to be accomplished by a 3 to 4 mage team, but our Fairy Tail S-class mage had assured her employers that this infestation would be dealt with swiftly, and that these lowlife apes would not see another battle after she was threw with them. Seeing how serious she was in her statements, the mayors simply nodded, unable to doubt Fairy Tail's great Titania.

The Forest Vulcans, that she had been asked to get rid of, were a specie of tall green furred primates, with leathery skin that was of a bright shade of purple. They are usually agile and territorial, with long pointy ears giving them a keen sense of hearing, and have five decorative pink hearts aligned on their arms. But what you must be the most weary of, was their bite. Of course it stung when you were bitten, and you probably had to get a rabies shot afterwards, but the most troublesome side-effect was that once bitten, you became a Vulcan yourself, until the Alpha that had bitten you was defeated. This had lead to the disappearance of quite a few villagers, and ultimately, to the invasion of the forest by those ruthless carnivores.

She had spent a few days hunting down the alpha responsible for the outbreak, knocking him out in one swift attack, that almost took out a good portion of the forest, and had then spent the rest of her time helping the lost villagers regain their homes.

This is how she had found herself in the middle of a small town square, bringing back the last villager that had been taken-over by the Vulcan, when a shout for help was heard. A few moments later, a tall blond women was running down the street, heading straight for the mayor that had been welcoming Erza back from her mission.

"Mister mayor, Mister mayor! My-My children, they've left to play near the old ruins this morning, but it's past lunchtime I can't find them anywhere! My two babies!"

The poor woman was out of breath from her running, her body shaking of fear for her children, as her eyes slowly filled with tears and worry.

"Now Beth, calm down. The children probably just lost track of time. I'm sure they are fine. Erza here has just finished getting rid of these awful Gorians, so you really have nothing to fear."

The mayor, a small round man with a little white mustache, tried soothing the mother with his reassuring words, but after a few minutes, the woman, Beth, seemed more distraught than when she had first came to the mayor for help.

Seeing Beth's distress, Erza advanced towards the shaking blond, her head held high, almost as if she was going to salute the anguished mother.

"I'll go look for them, and worry not, I will bring them back."

As always, her tone was assured and definite, leaving no place for doubt or failure. So with these words, Erza turned around and headed back towards the edge of the forest were she knew the ruins of an old castle could be found, not seeing the surprised, yet admiring look, that Beth was giving her.

Erza sometimes seemed a little rash, but all her actions were always thoroughly chosen. The young woman was seen as serious, determined, stubborn and valiant. She knew her strengths and weaknesses, but most importantly she knew that, for her friends and family, she could always surpass herself.

The 24-year-old woman had a slender and voluptuous figure, waist long scarlet red hair, and dark brown eyes, with a lock of hair falling over the right one. Most often than not, she could be seen wearing her Heart Kreuz custom-made armor, with a blue pleated skirt that stopped just before her knees, and black boots that covered up to her calves. She was a true knight in shining armor.

The warrior mage quickly made her way to the old ruined castle, just outside the town. All that was left of the ancient building were three stone towers, linked to one another by a gray brick wall. The only reason they hadn't collapsed yet, were thanks to the dark vines running along the century old stones, linking them to one another, and thus supporting the entire structure.

As she approached the ruins, a surge of magic was felt; the massive amounts of magical power making her spine tingle under the pressure. Her step barely faltered as she started running towards the old castle, seeing the towers trembling in the distance. She hadn't been running for a five minutes that a loud and feral roar was heard, making Erza skid to a stop, her gaze lifting up towards the stone towers that tilted over, crumbling on themselves in the distance. Her brows furrowed stubbornly as she started sprinting again, determined to find the children, alive and safe, no matter what.

Once on the scene, dust was still flying around while rocks tumbled over one another at the slightest tremor. The three towers had collapsed towards the once barren center to the castle, leaving only a small mountain of rubble with a dragon on the side.

She froze.

Her eyes widen at what she was seeing, pinching her cheek ferociously to make sure she was awake. Right there, at the foot of the broken wall she was currently standing on, was a curled up dragon. His back was towards her, its golden scales shining in a pearly silver color when the sun danced across its body. The creature was beautiful… and deadly.

Snapping out of her captivated state, the redhead let her magic swirl around her as she discarded her daily armor to summon her Adamantine Armor. Erza was a Reequip Mage, her magic allowing her to reach out into a parallel space of her choosing, giving her access to any of her armors. Titania had a few famous armors, but could also reequip different outfits and attires whenever she wanted. After all, she had been renting out the entire last floor of Fairy Tail's Girls' Dormitory just to stock all of her different armors, clothes, and weapons.

The Adamantine Armor she was now wearing was also known as her ultimate defense armor, with its large and imposing form colored in blue and navy. Just like a dragon's scales, the breastplate and skirt were composed of many plates encased into one another, allowing her movement while always protecting her. This armor covered her entire body, from the shoulder and knee pads adorned with navy blue spikes, to the helmet encasing the sides of her head, leaving her red hair flow in her back, and her face cleared. Attached to her armguards were two halves of a giant shield that, brought together, could withstand any kind of magic and physical attack, with five adamantine spears running from the center to the edge of the shield.

Erza was ready to jump down, and onto the back of the creature, when she was forced to bring her shield up when a large bolder came tumbling her way. She felt the impact against her shield, then came out of her stance, opening her arms to see where the large rock had came from, only to she see a man her age in front of her, with his short blue hair, brown eyes, and a red tattoo going from above his right eye to under it.

"Jellal?"

Saying that she was surprised to see him was a mild understatement. He was wearing a battered old cloak that only showed his lower legs that were covered in white wrappings, and black sandals. Other than that, the cloak rose all the way up to under his chin, showing his lips curving into a small smile.

"Hello Erza. You look lovely, as always."

The Reequip mage ignored the way his compliment had made her heart skip a beat, and glanced towards the dragon that was still curled up a few meters down. When she saw that it hadn't moved, she turned her gaze back to the young man in front of her.

"What are you doing here Jellal?"

"What about you?"

Her lips were pinched into a thin line. She wasn't really surprised that he hadn't answered her question. He never did anyways. But this time she promised herself that she wouldn't get mad at him, so answered his question:

"I had a mission in the village down the hill; a woman said that her two kids were playing here when the old ruins collapsed. I'm here to bring them back."

"Then why were you about to attack that dragon? You, better than anyone, should know the Master's rule. No going after dragons."

His voice was as soft and caring as she remembered. He would never lecture her, no. He really wasn't well placed to reprimand her, not with all the reckless secrets he was keeping, that he had been keeping from her for the past few years. But this time she would ignore him. And, maybe if she got herself wounded badly enough, he would come back to the guild with her.

"His precise order is to not take any dragon related mission, that one's not part of my mission."

"Then leave him alone."

For a small second, Erza looked at him with a shocked expression, before confusion marred her feature:

"Are you… protecting that thing?"

In a gesture she had seen him do a thousand times, Jellal let his features fall into a bored expression, looking away from her and into nothingness. At that instant, she saw the little boy she had met at the orphanage, the one that had stubbornly refused to tell the head-sister that it was he and she that had stolen the cookies. She knew he wouldn't answer any of her questions anymore. And in a few seconds he would disappear, until the next time they met. He was a ghost to her, appearing and disappearing without leaving a trace of his existence behind. Leaving her behind each time. And even if she had promised herself that she wouldn't get angry at him, she just couldn't let it pass:

"Jellal! Those beasts KILLED our friends, our family. Destroyed the orphanage! How many innocent lives do you think that one took?"

Her eyes were bright with anger as she looked at him, her right arm extended to where the dragon was, a few meters down. She could feel her left eye fill with moisture at the memories of her burning orphanage, where she had lost what little love she had found. But her right eye stayed dry and focused on the blue haired mage. She hadn't been able to cry with that one ever since she had lost it to the dragon's flame as a child. Porlyusica had told her that her artificial eye would take time to get used to her body, but that she too had to accept it. But Erza had never understood what exactly she was supposed to accept.

"He didn't kill anyone."

She lowered her arm, half aware that it was a miracle that they hadn't been spotted by the dragon yet, and surprised that he had actually answered her. His words were like a soothing balm on her wounds, calming her pains and quieting her angers. And she wanted to believe him, really, she did, but she just couldn't make those painful memories disappear.

"How would you know?"

Her words were almost a whisper as the wind picked up around her. She was feeling strangely calm, wanting him to finally open up to her, just like when they were younger, and shared secrets they thought no one else knew. But they had grown up, and everything had changed.

"Because…", he abruptly stopped himself from saying anything more, letting out a deep breath before finally looking back into her eyes.

"Just trust me, Erza. That one hasn't done anything wrong, and I can't allow you to try and harm him."

His words were like ice around her heart, so she did the only thing she could to protect herself against him. She let her brain do all the reasoning, closing her heart to him, making her voice harsh and definite.

"Jellal Fernandes, as a Fairy Tail mage, I am to protect those who don't have the strength to defend themselves against those monsters. I am asking you to back down. Now."

"I'm sorry, Erza."

And with those words, and a sad smile, he attacked.

"METEOR!"

Casting his spell, Jellal's body was surrounded by a cloak of Heavenly Body Magic, tendrils of yellow energy wrapping around him. Not wasting a second more, Erza let her own magic weave itself around her, summoning her Flight Armor.

With the spell he had cast, Jellal would be able to move at incredible speeds, so her only chance to catch him was to let him come to her, and knock him out in hand-to-hand combat. Her current armor, with a furry cheetah printed shorts and top, a tail, large collar and feline ears, would give her the extra speed she needed to even out the field a bit.

A bright light surrounded his body by the time she finished reequipping, and he was speeding towards her, his foot barely touching the broken wall they were both on. He came at her without hesitation, his intent to knock her out clear. They hadn't fought one another in a long time, but even if she didn't want to hurt him, she also knew that if she didn't give it her all, her wouldn't spare her. So Erza blocked his blows, and aimed for the small openings she spotted, not letting him overpower her in speed or strength.

After blocking a low kick with her right hand, blocking his left leg thanks to her grip on his ankle, she used the momentum to throw a high kick to the side of his head. She almost lost her balance when her left leg was met with empty air, and her hand lost its grip on his leg. She stopped in a crouch, facing the space she had been turning her back to since the beginning of the fight. If she let him have the element of surprise, she was done for.

Feeling movement behind her, she kicked her legs up from under her, ending into a handstand while clipping him in the chin. Her victory was short lived when he grabbed one of her ankles, pulling it harshly to the side.

Losing her balance, she ended up with her lower legs dangling over the outside wall, and her back pressed against the uneven stones as he straddled her hips, leaning all his weight onto his hands that were pinning her wrists on each side of her head.

She was stunned for a few seconds, blinking a few times to let her brain register what had just happened, before anger started to bubble inside her chest.

"Look", he said in that soft and caring voice of his, his head turned to ledge as his eyes looked down.

After giving him a glare, Erza craned her neck a bit to the side and followed his gaze to the foot of the wall she was half falling off of. The dragon was slowly getting up, raising his half-opened wings into a small dome, making rocks and debris fall off him. As the giant reptile backed away, Erza saw that his golden leather wings were forming a protective dome over two unconscious kids. When it was far enough from the small humans, the dragon shook himself, getting rid of the last pebbles and dust that had still been covering him. Once done, it looked up to where Jellal was still straddling Erza to the ground, allowing her to see the scar that ran over his right eye, before turning around and disappearing into the nearby forest.

"See? They're safe. I've put them under a sleeping spell. They should wake up in about ten minutes."

His voice was soft and low, with a kindness in his eyes that was more for her than the kids, but she didn't see him stare down at her. She was too busy looking at the kids, bewildered by what she had just seen. A dragon had saved the children when the building had crumbled down.

Her muscles were loose, as she wasn't fighting Jellal's hold anymore, and was pulled out of her daze when she felt his weight disappear. The blue haired mage dusted himself off before extending a hand towards her to help her up. Taking his hand, she lets him pull her off the ground as she reequipped her usual armor, but didn't let go just yet. Instead, he followed her gaze up his left upper arm that his sleeveless black shirt was showing off. He quickly pulled away, hiding his arm under his cloak again, but knew that she had already seen it; the scarlet red mark of Fairy Tail that mirrored her own blue guild stamp on the middle of her left upper arm.

"Why…?"

She let her words hang between them, a rare confused look on her features. Jellal could only smile softly at her, his eyes always hiding behind that hint of sadness she could never quite place.

"I'm sorry, I can't say anything for now. I'll let you bring the kids back."

With another empty apology, he leaned in and kissed her bruised forehead, whispering a soft "Sorry", before disappearing like the ghost he was.

Erza stood there for a long time, her eyes looking out into an unfocused daze as her face slowly took the color of her hair. Slapping both of her cheeks violently, she snapped out of it and made her way to the two sleeping kids.

Once at the foot of the wall, she noticed that the boy, that seemed to be around six years old, was stirring in his sleep while holding onto a leather bound book.

By the time the scarlet mage reached the town's gates, the sun was beginning to set over the horizon, the last rays shining off her armor. The eldest of the two children, the boy, had woken up when she had wanted to pick him up at the castle, and was now walking next to her, holding her hand with his right one, while clutching the heavy looking book against his chest with the left one, his little palm spread out over the old faded-brown cover.

When Beth, the mother, saw them arrive, she started running towards Erza, almost tripping on her way to them, tears slipping down her cheeks as she a relieved smile lightened her features. Once in front of them, the blond woman fell to her knees, kissing and hugging her son before standing up to take her little four year-old girl that was cradled safely inside Erza's arm.

After being showered with thanks by the mother, and being asked what she wanted in return, Erza finally managed to reassure the blond woman that she had only done what was right, and did not need any kind of reward from her. When Beth left, her still sleeping girl in her arms, Tim, the boy, stayed behind, giving Erza bright smile.

"Thank you for saving me and my sister from the falling castle."

Erza crouched down, leveling her brown eyes with his soft green ones.

"You're welcome Tim. But tell me, where you and your sister the only ones playing in those ruins?"

"Yeap. The other kids didn't want to play near the castle, they said it was haunted", he whispered the last words like it was a secret, before nodding his head like he truly believed that ghosts still roamed around the dusty pile of stones.

"Did you see a ghost, or a big shadowy monster, when the castle collapsed?"

Erza had whispered her question, playing along with Tim's wild imagination, that might not be so wild after all.

"No, we found the book, then there was an earthquake, so I started running with my sister, but she stopped running and just fell asleep when the rocks came falling down on us. Then you woke me up, so I didn't see the ghosts leave."

During his little story telling, Tim had been waving his little arms all around himself, giving life to his adventure, even if the book was hampering his movements. The kid actually looked disappointed that he hadn't seen any ghosts or monsters, much to Erza's relief. She wasn't sure what Jellal was up to, protecting that dragon, but if word ever got out that there was one of those giant reptiles in these words, hunters would come swarming in, and Jellal could get caught in the crossfire.

As she was mulling over that idea, her attention was brought back to Tim when he waved something towards her.

"So here", he added, raising the old book to her face, "this is a thank you gift. We found this before the castle broke down, but I can't read it, so you can have it."

Erza gave the kid a small smile before ruffling his hair.

"Thank you Tim."

With that, Tim gave her another bright smile and turned around, running back to his mother. Erza watched them enter a small house, and waved them goodbye one last time before looking at the book she had just been given. In the middle of the front cover, she could vaguely distinguish a back, faded-out dragon. Opening it to the first page, she saw that it was in an old language that she did not know.

Figuring that only Levy could read this book, she decided to go back to the inn and get her suitcases. She would then head back to Magnolia, give the book to Levy the next time she saw her at the guild, and more importantly, she had to have a talk with Master Makarov.

* * *

 **Thank you fanficlove2014, AvaMarie234, Sapphire Water Maiden, Alien, AnonymousStalkerFriend, Nitebreaker, walkeabb000, Dragonfly sky, Serika2001, The Winter Halcyon, and silverspetz, for the Reviews, Follows and Favorites on the last chapter! :)**

 **O.o Wow, I got 2,950 views for this story o.O THANK YOU ^.^**


	9. Glutton dragons and stubborn mages

**Hello dear Reader!**

 **I know that I haven't set an official posting date for my stories, but I usually try updating every 3 days to 1 week max (unless I take out a one-shot instead of a chapter). But I still feel like I should apologize for making everyone wait. I just passed the last week stuck in bed with a terrible cold, and honestly that's really not the most charming company one could have while under one's covers. But I digress. Enjoy this chapter! :D**

 **Side notes :**

Narration

"Talking"

 _*Thinking*_

 **Disclaimer : I do not own** _ **Fairy Tail**_

* * *

 **Lucy**

Lucy woke up with the first rays of dawn, well rested and bubbling with energy. She practically jumped out of bed as she threw her covers aside, and hopped into the shower. Once dried, the blond mage got dressed in her white and blue top, the matching skirt, and dashed out of her apartment, a small handbag slung over her shoulder, as she tugged on her knee high black boots. She was buzzing with happiness and excitement, unable to stop herself from skipping all the way to the guildhall. Of course, she was happy to go see her friends in Fairy Tail, but what had her practically bouncing off the walls was the fact that, today, she was going start training Natsu.

Last night, after setting a huge bonfire for the fire-eating dragon's diner, Lucy had chased Happy all over the small clearing in order to take back her box of matches. The blue Exceed had started crying, saying that she was mean, and didn't care if the flames died out during the night, forcing his best friend Natsu to starve to death. The blond mage had only rolled her eyes at the cat's antics, telling him that she would bring the matches back tomorrow morning. At that, the dragon had given Happy a small push with his snout, telling the blue cat to give the matches back to her. No need to say, the Exceed had threatened her that he would let Natsu eat her up if she didn't come back tomorrow morning with fish. Lucy had thus decided that she would first visit the guild, to give her report for the mission in Hargeon, before making her way to the forest in order to see Natsu and Happy.

Pushing open the doors to Fairy Tail's building, she was met by a practically empty guildhall, which didn't surprise her, knowing how early it was. But Lucy didn't mind, seeing how the two people she wanted to talk with were both at the bar. Walking over to the two figures, Lucy greeted Makarov and Mirajane with a smile and a small wave.

Fairy Tail's Guild Master, Makarov Dreyar, gave her a bright smile, his cheeks already dusted in pink from the beer he was sipping. This morning, he was wearing a white shirt with the black guild's mark in the middle of his chest, an orange hoodie and shorts, blacks socks with leather sandals, and an orange and blue striped jester hat. While he was sitting comfortably on the end of the bar, legs folded in front of him, Mirajane was setting up a tray full of pastries for this morning's breakfast. As always, Mirajane Strauss, regular model for Sorcerer Magazine, had her long white hair loose, with her short bang held up by a rubber-band, showing her oval shaped face and a small happy smile that made you feel like she knew your deepest darkest secrets and was enjoying the thought. Even if she looked innocent with her simple black and white waitress attire, Lucy knew that, under that long strapless dress edged in white lace and ribbons, was a powerful, and very scary, S-class Demon Take-Over mage.

"Good morning Lucy. We were starting to get worried.", said Mirajane in that motherly tone of hers. Even if she was scary when she serious, Fairy Tail's official waitress was also one of the most caring and compassionate person Lucy had ever met.

"Good morning Mira. I got held up in Hargeon when I realized that I had forgotten to buy a return ticket. And since the trains were full with all the tourists that had come for the Festival, I decided to walk back to Magnolia. I'm sorry if I had you worried, but I was way too tired to come over to the guild yesterday."

Lucy gave her friend a sheepish smile. She couldn't really tell them that the main reason she hadn't visited yesterday evening was because she had been too busy chasing after a flying cat. Nor could she tell them about befriending a pink, fire eating, dragon.

"Well, the important thing is that you arrived home safely, isn't that right _Master_?"

Mira turned that eerily calm smile of hers towards the elder man that was drinking his beer out of a wooden mug, and Lucy couldn't hold back the shiver that ran down her spine. Strangely, Makarov continued to drink his beer, looking straight ahead of him as if she hadn't said anything; only to be betrayed by a bead of sweat that started to roll down from his temple. Seeing this, Lucy turned her attention back to the older woman, whispering her next words, but dreading the answer:

"Is something wrong with Master Makarov?"

"Oh, nothing much. His _grandchild_ , Laxus, left for a mission a _month_ ago, and _still_ hasn't come back. But our _old_ and dear Guild Master here doesn't deem it _important_ enough to sent someone to _check-up_ on him."

Her voice had been deliberately loud enough for Makarov to hear, and each time the Demon stressed a certain word, Lucy saw Makarov slowly shrink on himself, which was a rather impressive feat knowing just how small Fairy Tail's Guild Master already was.

Lucy felt bad for the poor man. Mirajane had a gift to make people see her way, or guilt trip them into agreeing with her, with her cold but innocent smile, and menacing aura. Moreover, since the Take-over mage was also the go-to person when you wanted to know about a rumor or gossip, you could say that she always had the right arguments to sway you, even if most of the rumors were probably made up by her in the first place.

While the blond Celestial Spirit mage sat down in front of the bar to write down her report in the guild's logbook, she heard the building's doors slam open. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw a very serious looking Erza appear, and making a beeline for Makarov.

"Morning Master. We need to talk about Jellal."

At her words, Lucy saw Mirajane's head perk up, ready to listen to the promisingly juicy gossip of the day, while Makarov's smile fell into a grave expression as he nodded once before jumping off of his perch. Lucy's stunned eyes were glued to Erza as the scarlet haired knight followed the small man into the empty infirmary situated on the floor on-top of them. If Makarov didn't want anyone to hear the conversation he was going to have with Erza, then this had to be a very serious matter.

Lucy looked back to where Mirajane was, wanting to ask her if she knew what all of this had been about, but was met by empty space. The Demon had disappeared, leaving the blond mage alone at the bar. Shrugging it off, Lucy finished writing down her report and skipped out of the guild, swiftly heading towards the nearest fish merchant where she bought a plain silvery-blue scaled fish for Happy, wrapped in a newspaper cone, before leaving the town.

Once she entered the forest on the outskirts of town, Lucy started to worry that she wouldn't be able to find the clearing again. After all, the first time she had found it was because she had chased Happy there.

Fortunately, after thirty minutes of walking between tree trunks, climbing over fallen branches, and almost tripping over moss covered roots, the Celestial Spirit mage finally arrived at the clearing.

The blue sky was clear of clouds, and the morning sun was already high enough to bathe the large grass covered circle with its warming glow. The little river at the far edge of the glade was calm, the water barely rustling by the rocks at the borders of the river's bed.

Lucy enjoyed the calm atmosphere for a few blissful seconds… just before hearing Happy's sleep filled voice:

"The match thief is back."

Ignoring the blue cat's comment, Lucy decided that he wouldn't ruin this perfectly beautiful morning, and put on a bright smile before holding up the newspaper cone she had been carrying around.

"Happy! I got your fish!"

Suddenly, the Exceed seemed very much awake, and flew straight for Lucy, glomping her around the chest, snuggling his head between her breasts.

"Lucy! I missed you. Natsu kept saying mean things like how you stole our matches and almost made him starve."

"That was you, Happy." Lucy answered, not looking convinced by the cat's antics at all, while the half sleeping dragon could be heard huffing out in denial.

After patting the Exceed's head a few times, she gave up the fish and made her way to Natsu. The large dragon was laying on his stomach, in the middle of the glade, wings half spread out as he basked in the sun's heat. Once again, Lucy was mesmerized by Natsu's dark salmon-pink scales, with that small sliver of gold lining each scale. He could have been a living jewel. The blond mage couldn't help passing the tip of her fingers along his neck, watching the flame likes hues dance across the scales, feeling the strange warmth coming off them.

At her touch, Natsu, didn't even flinch. He stayed perfectly still, eyes closed, as if he was still sleeping. But Lucy knew better. His huffing earlier, and Happy's words, was proof that he was awake. Another thing that the blond mage had quickly understood was that, despite his big and menacing form, Natsu was gentle, curious, and a glutton. The last part would help her greatly in training him.

Taking a few steps back, Lucy picked up a dead branch, with dried out leaves still hanging at the tips, while Happy sat near the river, munching on his fish. Letting her bag fall to the ground, she took out her box of matches, and managed to light up the leaves at the top of her branch, thankful that there wasn't any wind to blow the small flame out.

Natsu's nostrils twitched at the faint smell of smoke, and turned its wide scaly head to the left, eyeing the burning branch Lucy was holding. The Celestial Spirit mage felt a pleased smile stretch her lips as the dragon closed its wings and slowly rose up to sit on its haunches, a long pointy tongue flashing out as if anticipating its meal.

Seeing this, Lucy lifted the flame-covered branch towards Natsu, chuckling to herself as the dragon sucked in the small flames in a single breath. After that, Lucy had the dragon's complete and undevided attention. His head followed her every movements as she paced around the nearby trees to pick up wood, and his onyx black eyes never left her hands as she slowly lit a fire in the middle of a small, ash covered, stone circle. Once the fire was lit, she picked-up the burnt branch from earlier, and set it aflame.

"Alright, Natsu. Lay down."

The dragon hesitated for a few seconds before lowering itself on it's to front legs, taking the position of a sphinx, like in one of the pictures she had once seen in an article about old temples in far away deserts. Lucy could also have sworn that the dragon had rolled his eyes, but she couldn't be sure. Pushing that silly thought aside, the blond mage allowed to dragon to eat up the flames on her dwindling branch. But what she didn't see coming was that, once the flame was out, Natsu weaved its large head around her, his snout closing in on her campfire.

"No! No, no, no, no, no…"

The Celestial Spirit mage had her entire upper body leaning up against the dragon's cheek, as he lazily stretched his neck as much as he could in order to get to the flames. Her small hands pushing against his wide jaw, trying to pry him away from the fire, but to no avail. In his haste to eat, Natsu breathed in all the flames, extinguishing her little bonfire, much to Lucy's annoyance.

"You glutton!"

The fire now out, the pink-scaled dragon leaned back into the sphinx like position, and started to at her expectantly.

"What?" Lucy snapped at the dragon. There was no way she could ever overpower him in strength. She had known that, but this little scene had just made her realize just how much more powerful the dragon was. If he ever decided that she was a nuisance, he could probably kill her with a snap of his jaws. And his very sharp looking talons could easily cut her in half if she wasn't careful. And since he was a fire-breathing dragon, he could probably turn her into a pile of ashes just by accidentally sneezing next to her.

She knew that she used her anger to cover the dread that this realization had brought her. Lucy was scared, and even if the dragon didn't realize it yet, she was just a small and frail human. And the only reason she was still alive, even after their first meeting in the forest two nights ago, was probably because he was smart enough to not kill her, his new source of food.

She was snapped out of her thoughts when Natsu gave her arm a small nudge with his snout. Much to Lucy's surprise, the dragon was back to its food-begging, gentle self again. Seeing the dragon nudge her lightly towards the smoking ashes, Lucy felt a bit of her courage come back.

"You want me to light it up again?", she asked lightly as the dragon let her push his large head back. Leaning back, Natsu crossed its two front paws, one over the other, before nodding slowly at her question.

Once again, Natsu showed how smart he really was. Lucy couldn't tell if this would be a helpful quality when she trained him, or if she had to be more weary of the dragon. Pushing this other troublesome thought aside, she turned back to her campfire, rearranging the blackened branches to start the fire again.

"How did you manage to survive all this time?", Lucy mumbled to herself, "What kind of dragon can't even fend for himself?"

"Jats bwekwose ish ot eze –"

"Don't talk with your mouth full Happy, I can't understand a thing you're saying."

Happy walked towards her, and the campfire, sitting on the opposite side from Natsu, before plopping the half eaten fish out of his mouth.

"Natsu can hunt for himself, but there aren't a lot of fires here. It was easier to feed him before Ac-"

Happy's words were cut off when Natsu slammed his tail down, making the ground under Lucy quiver, as the large dragon let out a low growl towards the Exceed, shutting him up in an instant. The young girl jumped up, startled by Natsu's violent reaction to his friend's words, and walked around the still unlit pile of embers to take a shaking and very sad looking blue cat into her arms, just before turning a harsh glare to the dragon.

"Natsu! That was rude and dangerous! What's your problem? He was defending you!"

Silence fell over the trio as the wind started to ruffle the leaves on the treetops. Other then that, everyone had gone still as Lucy's angry gaze held Natsu's. The seconds seemed to stretch on forever, but Happy didn't dare to move. Finally, it was the pink-scaled dragon that turned his head away, and walked to the other end of the clearing to curl up in a ball.

Lucy, still hugging the small Exceed, watched as Natsu pouted in his corner. She wasn't sure about what had just happened, but if one thing was for certain, she had just won an argument against a dragon.

After she had finished reassuring Happy that Natsu wasn't really mad at him, because they were best friends and best friends didn't fight, she lit up the fire once more and decided to leave the two alone for the rest of the day. It wasn't noon yet; she still had plenty of daylight time to waste. She could get started on writing that adventure story that had been on her mind since yesterday.

Gathering her bag off the grass, Lucy left the clearing without another word. To be honest, the mage was saddened by the turn of events. The dragon really didn't seem evil, maybe a little lost and lonely, but she had yelled at him for acting like a dragon… even if, at times, he reminded her more of a spoiled child, rather than a dragon. Whatever Happy had been talking about, it had upset Nastu. And now she was getting upset with herself for having upset a dragon!

 _*Maybe I should try getting a few more hours of sleep?*_ , Lucy thought to herself. She didn't like to feel this emotional, and a long hot bath, followed by a good nap, would be the perfect remedy.

* * *

 **I'd like to give a big shout out to Sapphire Water Maiden, Nitebreaker, draqonslayer, Extalia, fanficlove2014, Varentena, Lavythecat, marti36, snickermoon814, AnonymousStalkerFriend, Guest!, missnightowl00, bacchus in vines, ExpendablesGirl07, Mangagirl653, dzana333, lexiloulou0314, Ashitaki, , Aureillia, Dragonslayer2526, That Panda You Know, Mun kuro tenshi, cmw13, and lalalokka, for the Reviews, Follows and Favorites on the last chapter! :)**

 **And of course, a big thank you to all of you wonderful people who took the time to read this chapter, and get this story to 4.3K views. ^.^**


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